| Title: |
Haematology of New Zealand’s two extant endemic bat species. |
| Authors: |
Ling, Nicholas1 (AUTHOR) nling@waikato.ac.nz, Reynolds, Gavin1 (AUTHOR), Dekrout, Andrea1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: |
New Zealand Journal of Zoology. Feb2025, p1-9. 9p. 2 Illustrations. |
| Subject Terms: |
*BAT ecology, *ENDEMIC species, *CELL size, *BATS, *BLOOD sampling |
| Abstract: |
This study investigated haematological values for New Zealand’s two extant endemic bats, the long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) and the lesser short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata), to determine whether differences in locomotion and ecology between these species might be reflected in the species’ haematology. The two species differed significantly in their ease of obtaining a blood sample, with long-tailed bats bleeding freely from the uropatagial vein. Obtaining a sample from the same location was highly problematic in short-tailed bats, although small samples could be obtained from the median vein. Males of both species tended to have slightly higher packed cell volumes, but haematological variables did not differ significantly between sexes. However, erythrocytes of the lesser short-tailed bat were smaller and more numerous than those of the long-tail bat and smaller than those of any bat studied to date. Whole blood haemoglobin and mean cell haemoglobin concentration were greater in lesser short-tailed bats than long-tail bats, providing for slightly greater oxygen carrying capacity. Whether these differences in the haematology of the lesser short-tailed bat are adaptations to terrestrial locomotion in this species or related to other aspects of the ecology of this unusual bat are unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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