Singapore whiskered bat
The Singapore whiskered bat (Vespertilio oreias) is or was a possible species of vesper bat endemic to Singapore. No specimens have been found since its original scientific description in 1840 by Dutch zoologist Coenraad Temminck.
| Singapore whiskered bat | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus: | Vespertilio |
| Species: | V. oreias |
| Binomial name | |
| Vespertilio oreias (Temminck, 1840) | |
 | |
| Distribution according to the IUCN Redlist[1] | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Taxonomy
There is some uncertainty regarding its genus classification as either Vespertilio (Temminck 1840), Myotis (Tate 1941), or Kerivoula (Csorba 2016). All contending genera share Vespertilionidae as the family. Modern analysis of the type specimen found it to have skull fragments from another species and the skin to be in too poor a condition to confirm it as a distinct species.[2] Additionally, it is zoogeographically hard to believe that a bat species could be limited to the island of Singapore.[1]
The holotype is in Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, Netherlands.[2]
References
- Csorba, G.; Bates, P.; Lee, B.; Soisook, P. (2016). "Myotis oreias". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T14186A22067080. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T14186A22067080.en.
This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 3.0 license. - Csorba, Gábor; Smeenk, Chris; Lee, Benjamin P. Y.-H. (12 December 2016). "The identity of Vespertilio oreias Temminck, 1840—solving a taxonomic puzzle". Zootaxa. 4205 (6): 564. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4205.6.4. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 27988549. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
Temminck's Vespertilio oreias is only known from the holotype, preserved in the National Museum of Natural History (now Naturalis Biodiversity Center) in Leiden, RMNH 35407.