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Macroderma gigas
– Vulnerable
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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MAMMALIA
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Order:
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CHIROPTERA
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Family:
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MEGADERMATIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Macroderma gigas
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Species Authority:
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(Dobson, 1880)
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Common Name/s:
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| English | — | AUSTRALIAN FALSE VAMPIRE BAT, GHOST BAT |
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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VU A2c ver 2.3 (1994)
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Year Assessed:
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1996
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Annotations:
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Needs updating
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Assessor/s:
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Chiroptera Specialist Group
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History:
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| 1982 | - | Vulnerable (Thornback and Jenkins 1982) |
| 1986 | - | Vulnerable (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986) |
| 1988 | - | Vulnerable (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988) |
| 1990 | - | Vulnerable (IUCN 1990) |
| 1994 | - | Vulnerable (Groombridge 1994) |
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Geographic Range
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Range Description:
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M. gigas is endemic to Australia. Its current distribution is coastal and up to 400 km inland throughout northern Australia.
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Countries:
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Native:
Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia)
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Population
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Population:
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Current population estimates are 4,000–7,000 individuals. The population in Queensland is estimated at less than 1,000 with its major colony at Mount Etna having declined in the last 10 years. The Northern Territory population is thought to be more or less stable at 3,000-4,000 individuals, but the main colony (at Kohinoor Mine, Pine Creek) is threatened by a potential mine collapse. The Western Australia population of about 1,000 is thought to be stable and there are no current threats to this population (Hutson et al. 2001).
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Population Trend:
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Habitat and Ecology
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Habitat and Ecology:
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Although it occurs in rainforest areas, the ghost bat is mainly found in the arid zone near rock outcrops, and roosts in caves, mines, and rock clefts. It mainly forages within 1-2 km of the roost site. Most of the prey is large invertebrates such as beetles, but it is also known to take small vertebrates including other bats, birds, lizards, and snakes. Fruit has also been recorded in the diet. Most prey is taken to a feeding perch in trees, rock overhangs, or cave entrances (Hutson et al. 2001).
Ghost bats move between a number of caves seasonally or as dictated by weather conditions. Thus they require a range of cave sites (Hutson et al. 2001).
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System:
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Terrestrial
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List of Habitats:
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| 1.5 | Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry |
| 7.1 | Caves and Subterranean Habitats (non-aquatic) - Caves |
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Threats
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Threats:
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This species is very vulnerable to disturbance in its roost sites. Cave tourism has been identified as a problem, but the most serious threat is from quarrying and reworking of old mine areas. In some cases, the collapse of disused mines may also be a threat. In some areas, habitat modifications for livestock may be a problem, as may competition for prey with introduced foxes and feral cats (Hutson et al. 2001).
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List of Threats:
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| 1.1.4 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Agriculture - Livestock (ongoing) |
| 4.1.3 | Accidental mortality - Bycatch - Other (future) |
| 8.1 | Changes in native species dynamics - Competitors (ongoing) |
| 10.1 | Human disturbance - Recreation/tourism (ongoing) |
| 10.6 | Human disturbance - Other (ongoing) |
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Conservation Actions
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Conservation Actions:
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M. gigas occurs in protected areas (e.g., national parks) in all areas of its distribution. Current management activities take account of the results of population genetics which have shown that colonies constitute separate metapopulations. Activities include a captive breeding programme, long-term population studies and monitoring in Queensland, and population studies in Western Australia. In the late 1980's, a massive international campaign to prevent destruction of caves used by this bat at Mount Etna failed and this population has subsequently declined. The species is the subject of a Recovery Outline published in The Action Plan for Australian Bats (Hutson et al. 2001).
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List of Conservation Actions:
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| 1 | Policy-based actions (in place, needed) |
| 1.1 | Policy-based actions - Management plans (in place) |
| 1.2 | Policy-based actions - Legislation (needed) |
| 1.2.1 | Policy-based actions - Legislation - Development (needed) |
| 1.2.2 | Policy-based actions - Legislation - Implementation (needed) |
| 2 | Communication and Education (needed) |
| 2.2 | Communication and Education - Awareness (needed) |
| 3 | Research actions (in place, needed) |
| 3.1 | Research actions - Taxonomy (needed) |
| 3.2 | Research actions - Population numbers and range (in place) |
| 3.9 | Research actions - Trends/Monitoring (needed) |
| 4 | Habitat and site-based actions - (in place, needed) |
| 4.4 | Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas (in place, needed) |
| 4.4.1 | Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Identification of new protected areas (needed) |
| 5 | Species-based actions - (in place) |
| 5.7 | Species-based actions - Ex situ conservation actions (in place) |
| 5.7.1 | Species-based actions - Ex situ conservation actions - Captive breeding/Artificial propagation (in place) |
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Bibliography
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Bibliography:
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Groombridge, B. (ed.) 1994. 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1986. 1986 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1988. 1988 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. IUCN. 1990. 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. Thornback, J. and Jenkins, M. 1982. The IUCN Mammal Red Data Book. Part 1: Threatened mammalian taxa of the Americas and the Australasian zoogeographic region (excluding Cetacea). IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
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