Azores Noctule

Azores Noctule
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Vespertilionidae
Genus:	Nyctalus
Species:	N. azoreum
Binomial name
Nyctalus azoreum Thomas, 1901

The Azores Noctule (Nyctalus azoreum) is a species of bat found in the dry forests of the Azores. It is the only species of mammal endemic to the Azores. It has been recorded on most of the islands of the Azores, and remains common on some but is rare on others.^[2] Its numbers are threatened due to habitat loss caused by humans, and the remaining populations are quite fragmented. It is known to roost in hollowed-out trees, buildings, and caves.

The species is related to the widespread Lesser Noctule, and in the past was treated as a subspecies of that species. Genetic studies have found that it originated recently from Lesser Noctules which colonised the Azores, and has low levels of genetic divergence from its parent species. It nevertheless is much smaller than the Lesser Noctule and weighs less, has darker fur and has a different frequency of echolocation calls (about 4–5 Hz higher), and is usually treated as a separate species.^[3]

The Azores Noctule is the only known species of bat in the world that hunts insects principally by day,^[4] although a single population of the Soprano Pipistrelle in northern Italy has also been discovered doing so.^[5] It has been hypothesised that the Azores Noctule can forage during the day due to the absence of avian predators in the Azores, since it is thought that other bats forage nocturnally in order to avoid predatory birds such as hawks and falcons. Azores Noctules still seem to exhibit some anti-predator behaviour, such as leaving their roosting sites in groups, but this may be related to foraging behaviour or non-avian predators such as rats.^[4]

References

1. ^ Chiroptera Specialist Group 2000. Nyctalus azoreum. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 17 April 2007.
2. ^ Salgueiro, P; Coelho, MM; Palmeirim, JM; Ruedi, M; et al (2004). "Mitochondrial DNA variation and population structure the island endemic Azorean bat (Nyctalus azoreum)". Molecular Ecology 13 (11): 3357–3366. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02354.x. PMID 15487995. 
3. ^ Salgueiro, P; Ruedi, M; Coelho, MM; Palmeirim, JM; M. Ruedi, M. M. Coelho and J. M. Palmeirim (2006). "Genetic divergence and phylogeography in the genus Nyctalus (Mammalia, Chiroptera): implications for population history of the insular bat Nyctalus azoreum ". Genetica 130 (2): 169–181. doi:10.1007/s10709-006-9004-x. PMID 16941086. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Irwin N.R; Speakman J.R. (2003). "Azorean bats Nyctalus azoreum, cluster as they emerge from roosts, despite the lack of avian predators". Acta Chiropterologica 5 (2): 185–192. http://www.abdn.ac.uk/ibes/speakman/pdf_docs/200.pdf. 
5. ^ Walker, Matt (2009). "The bat that came out of the dark". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8254000/8254222.stm. Retrieved 15 September 2009.