More on bizarre (non) flying things from NZ

[David Rees <>]

Correct Philip, both NZ bats fly, but one at least hunts on the ground.

On Fri, Jan 12, 2018 at 9:45 AM, Philip Veerman <> wrote:

Thanks. Actually that is Antechinus, not Antichinus. Even my spell checker picks this up.   I believe I have pointed this out before. My background is that La Trobe Uni zoology department had a bit of an obsession with Antechinus in the years I was there (got my BSc Hons there) with some deviation to other marsupials. So we all had a go at learning about them. I never found out what the name Antechinus means, but I reckon we should avoid an assumption that it is anti anything that is chinus. They already have enough of an attitude.

 

I guess it would be explained in Macleay, 1841:  Antechinus – pouched 'mice', antechinuses, broad-footed marsupial 'mice'.

 

About the living bats: A quick check has failed to resolve this for me. I have found this: Both the extant New Zealand bat species are skilled fliers.  Somewhere I saw film of them preferring to run around on the ground.

 

Philip

 

From: David Rees [
Sent: Friday, 12 January, 2018 7:45 AM
To: <m("canberrabirds.org.au","canberrabirds");" target="_blank">org.au>
Subject: [canberrabirds] More on bizarre (non) flying things from NZ

 

Here is a recent scientific paper that describes an extinct non-flying burrowing bat, found as a fossil in the south island of NZ.

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-18403-w

 

Evolution is a wonderful thing.  NZ still has bats that hunt on the ground like shrews or Antichinus.

 

David