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A Zoological Description of Mystacina Nonalatum

Matthew J. Mills

Legacy of Educational Excellence High School

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Abstract

Mystacina Nonalatum is a species of bat endemic to New Zealand. It has many notable

morphological and behavioral characteristics, including the lack of wing membranes, the use of a

communication system like a language, and a swarming behavior when threatened by predators.

In this paper, we explore the zoological and biological characteristics of M. Nonalatum.

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A Zoological Description of Mystacina Nonalatum

The species Mystacina Nonalatum, also known as the wingless bat, is a species of short-

tailed bat endemic to New Zealand. Perhaps its most unusual physical characteristic is the fact

that the wing membrane has over time evolved away, causing the bat to appear to have no wings.

It is likely descended from the New Zealand lesser short-tailed bat (Mystacina Tuberculata)1. It

is also highly notable for its use of what may be construed as a language, repurposing some

echolocation squeaks to instead serve as communication2.

Habitat and Behavior

The wingless bat spends most of its time on the ground, though it is an adept climber and

spend much of their time in trees. It lives in underground burrows, with some group burrows

containing as many as fifteen to twenty bats. They line the walls of the burrow with leaves, sticks

and other ground matter to prevent excessive reverberation, allowing calls to travel more clearly.

However, because this prevents them from easily detecting outside threats, the bats must live

distributed along any tunnels, to propagate a signal downward. An added benefit is the fact that

this significantly reduces the spread of disease within the burrow, letting them live longer natural

lives.

The bat is an insectivore, preying mostly on ground insects and spiders. It generally finds

them using scent, feel, and sound, rather than by echolocation, as they are too close to the ground

to be very distinguishable. Echolocation is generally reserved for predators, where they are far

enough off the ground to easily detect and it is very important to know their location.

The bats have many behaviors specifically adapted to their niche on the ground. Among

other things, they have a bipedal running mode, helping them to travel long distances even

1
For a proposed genealogy of M. Nonalatum, see Appendix A.
2
For a full description of the ‘language’, see Appendix B.
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though their front limbs are much longer than the hind ones. They also swarm predators (mainly

cats).

Physical Description

The bats measure an average of three inches in height, though females are generally

larger than males. They weigh an average of 30 grams, though again females are larger. One

notable reversion of this sexual dichotomy is that males have longer and sharper claws,

permitting them to dig burrows for the females. They are lek-breeders, meaning that males

provide very little care for their young, and engage in physical displays and competition amongst

each other, known as lekking.

The bats are entirely nocturnal, though their sleep is light and irregular. They live for

around ten years, largely due to their protections against the spread of disease in the burrow.

Their birth rate is correspondingly low, to compensate for the lowered death rate. They exhibit a

limited symbiotic relationship with plants above their burrows, eating the insects and arachnids

that attack the plant’s roots.

Evolution

The bats are likely descended from M. Tuberculata, sharing many genetic characteristics

as well as some morphological characteristics. Since M. Tuberculata spends quite a bit of its time

on the ground and can fold away its wing membranes for ground movement, it is not

unreasonable to assume that the wing membranes degraded over time and gradually evolved

away. The language may have arisen from a need to communicate in a world where predators are

far larger and stronger than those in the air.

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Appendix A

Proposed Genealogy

Animali
a

Chordat
a

Mammali
a

Chiroptera

Mystacinidae

Mystacin
a

Robusta

Tuberculata Nonalatum
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Appendix B

Language Description

The ‘language’ these bats seem to use is isolating, relying on combining several short

calls into one utterance rather than forming longer calls. The calls occur at ~70 kHz, above the

hearing frequency of any of the bat’s predators. In this table, - represents a long squeak and.

represents a short squeak. | represents a high-pitched (~80 kHz) squeak used to denote

boundaries between calls.

Call Meaning Category

..--.. Food Noun

.-.-.- Water Noun

-..---- Dangerous Modifier

.--... Not Modifier

..---..--- Thing Noun

-..- With [Combining Modifier] Modifier

--.---- Us [Self-Referential Noun] Noun

..-...--- Attack/Consume/Swarm Verb

..---.-.-- Go Verb

-.-.- North Noun

-..-- East Noun

Example sentence:

..---.-.--|-..-|.--...|-..----|..---..---|-..-|-.-.-|-..-|-..--

go-with-not-dangerous-thing-with-north-with-east

Follow it northeast.
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Works Cited

1. Macdonald, D., ed. (1984). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. p.

805.

2. Fiske, P., Rintamaki, P. T., Karvonen, E. (1998). "Mating success in lekking males: a

meta-analysis". Behavioral Ecology. 9: 328–338.