First Australian Pliocene molossid bat: Mormopterus (Micronomus) sp. from the Chinchilla Local Fauna, southeastern Queensland

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 9 years ago

Abstract - An isolated upper canine from the Pliocene Chinchilla Local Fauna of southeastern Queensland is identified as representing the Australian molossid genus Mormopterus, subgenus Micronomus. It is the first Australian Pliocene representative of the cosmopolitan family Molossidae and the first Tertiary representative of the Micronomus lineage. Approximately six Micronomus species are today widely distributed across the Australian mainland, Papua New Guinea and Ambon, and are found in most habitat types from desert to rainforest. The discovery of an indeterminate species of Micronomus in the Chinchilla Local Fauna does not contradict the palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the area as woodland savannah.