Murininae

The tube nosed bats ( Muri Ninae ) are a bat group from the family of Myotis bats ( Vespertilionidae ). They are usually managed as a separate subfamily. The group includes two genera ( Murina and Harpiocephalus ) with 19 species living in the eastern, southern and southeastern Asia and Australia.

Description

Named giving characteristic of these bats are the tubular, laterally arranged nostrils, a feature that can be found within the bats only at the tube nose fruit bats. Their fur is thick woolly, often are the legs, the tail wing membrane and the wings very hairy. The color is usually gray or brown, in some species also yellowish or reddish. These animals can reach a body length 33-75 mm, a tail length of 30 to 55 mm and a weight of 3 to 20 grams.

Way of life

Little is known about the habits of these bats. They often live in a hilly area and are like most bats nocturnal. During the day they sleep in small groups, often under leaves, such as the cardamom or in caves. At night, they go in search of food, which they then mostly fly just above the ground. Their diet should consist mostly of insects.

Genera and species

The subfamily of the tube nosed bats divided into two genera, Murina and Harpiocephalus. Harpiocephalus is slightly larger and has even more massive molars. A total of 19 species are distinguished:

• Harpiocephalus harpia is spread from northeastern India and southern China to the Moluccas.
• Harpiocephalus mordax is the largest species of this group. She lives in Myanmar, Thailand and Borneo.
• Murina Aenea lives on the Malay Peninsula and Borneo.
• Murina aurata distinguished by their yellow fur from other species. She lives in southern China, northern India, Myanmar and Thailand.
• Murina balaensis from southern Thailand.
• Murina cyclotis comes from Sri Lanka prior to the Philippines and the Lesser Sunda Islands.
• Murina eleryi from northern Vietnam.
• Murina Florium is distributed from Sulawesi to New Guinea and the north-eastern Queensland.
• Murina fusca occurs only in Manchuria.
• Murina grisea inhabited a small area in northern India ( Uttarakhand ). The species was not sighted for over 100 years and is possibly already extinct, the IUCN lists them as a serious threat.
• Murina huttoni comes from northern India to Malaysia before.
• Murina leucogaster lives in southern Siberia, China and Japan.
• Murina puta is endemic to Taiwan. The species is considered endangered.
• Murina rozendaali lives only in Borneo.
• Murina sylvatica is endemic in Japan.
• Murina suilla one with a weight of 3 to 4 grams of the smallest species. She lives on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and Java.
• Murina tenebrosa is only known from a single specimen of the Japanese island of Tsushima. The IUCN lists the species as critically endangered.
• Murina tubinaris is spread from northern Pakistan to Vietnam.
• Murina ussuriensis is the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin and Korea located in southeastern Siberia. Due to the destruction of their habitat, the species is considered threatened.