Singapore whiskered bat explained

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.

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.[1] Additionally, it is zoogeographically hard to believe that a bat species could be limited to the island of Singapore.

The holotype is in Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, Netherlands.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Csorba . Gábor . Smeenk . Chris . Lee . Benjamin P. Y.-H. . 12 December 2016 . The identity of Vespertilio oreias Temminck, 1840—solving a taxonomic puzzle . Zootaxa . 1175-5334 . 10.11646/zootaxa.4205.6.4 . 4205 . 6 . 564 . 27988549 . September 29, 2019. free . 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..