Bunkaiian Beach Bat
| Bunkaiian Beach Bat | |
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| Species: | A. lutrogales
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The Bunkaiian Beach Bat(Agnops lutrogales) locally called Rockhoppers, Lutuñi, Chemishi, or Chamrishi is a species of bat endemic to eastern Bunkaiia. They are crab and shellfish eating communal-living diurnal and very vocal bats that primarily hunt along the eastern intertidal zones as well as the Doyan archipelago, including the many tidepools, mangrove swamps and seaside crevices. They often congregate along the beaches in mass and use sharp piercing screech-bark to ward off and warn against predators, primarily the juvenile Vebokaais. Some Beach Bats have been recorded dropping shellfish from high elevation in order to crack their shells.
Taxonomy, Phylogeny & Etymology
It is distantly related to extant Mystacine bats as well as the extinct Vulcanops, both originally from Australasia. Mystacines diverged from other bat groups within Noctilionoidea (a primarily Gondwanan group, otherwise including Noctilionidae, Phyllostomidae and Mormoopidae) around 51-41 million years ago. A portion of the Bunkaiian archipelago once belonged to the supercontinent, Gondwana, which also included Madagascar, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America and Antarctica, meaning that the Bunkaiian Beach Bat represents a relic population that once was spread throughout much of Eastern Gondwana.
Agnops refers to Agni, the Hindu god of fire and sacred hearths, and indicates its close ties with Vulcanops - another burrowing bat, . While "lutro", which means otter and "-gales" which in itself refers to their habit of singing,screaming.
Description
Biology & Ecology
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