New Caledonia blossom bat

Description

Notopteris neocaledonica is a bat from the genus Notopteris that occurs on the northern half of the island of New Caledonia.In the southern half of the island,where there is a lot of maquis and fewer caves,the species is not known.This species is closely related to the other species of its genus,N.macdonaldi and is sometimes seen as a subspecies thereof.Both species eat nectar and sleep in caves.In complete darkness this bat can not avoid obstacles (like most flying dogs they do not have an echolocation),but he can maneuver very well while flying;for example,he can also fly vertically.Like N.macdonaldi,N.neocaledonica is a small,kaki-colored bat with a long tail and a long mouth.N.neocaledonica is even slightly smaller than N.macdonaldi.The head-body length is 93 to 101 mm,the tail length 43.5 to 54.0 mm,the forearm length 58 to 60 mm,the tibia length 30 to 34 mm and the ear length 14 to 15 mm.