Buzz
The fruit bat once known as Yoda has officially been given its permanent name. Researchers introduced the cheerful tube-nosed fruit bat in the Records of the Australian Museum.
The genus Nyctimene includes 18 species, all native to Oceania and Southeast Asia. These bats are known for their vibrant fur, expressive faces, and the distinct spots on their wings. They'll do almost anything for a juicy piece of fruit.
The family is no stranger to imaginative names, with relatives such as N. draconilla, the dragon tube-nosed bat, and N. masalai, the demonic tube-nosed bat.
Despite their quirky names, spotting the dragon or the demon among other Nyctimene species would be quite a challenge.
“Bat species often appear quite similar to one another,” explained biologist and co-author Nancy Irwin of York University in a statement, “but they differ greatly in their behavior, feeding habits, and evolutionary history.”
The newest addition to the family made its first appearance during a field survey in Papua New Guinea in the late 1990s. Surveyors brought the bat to Irwin, who suspected it was a distinct species. With its wrinkled ears and quirky smile, she affectionately named the bat Yoda.
To confirm they had discovered a new species, Irwin and her team meticulously reviewed scientific records and museum collections. They studied almost 3000 bat specimens from 18 different museums.
The happy tube-nosed fruit bat (L) and a postage stamp (R) depicting an unidentified Nyctimene species, as they all appear quite similar. | (L) Nancy Irwin; (R) Illustration by Julie Himes.After many years of research, Irwin and her team can now confidently declare the Yoda bat as a species of its own. However, they decided to drop the name Yoda, as Irwin notes that most local Papuans are unfamiliar with the Star Wars films, and the name 'Yoda' holds no significance to them.
Instead, she chose the name Hamamas (a local term meaning 'happy'). Its official name is now the Hamamas tube-nosed fruit bat, Nyctimene wrightae sp. nov. (new species). The species name honors conservationist and scientist Deb Wright, who dedicated two decades to studying and protecting the wildlife of Papua New Guinea.
“Until a species is identified and named,” says Irwin, “it's challenging to recognize the wealth of biodiversity and create effective management strategies. Fruit bats play a vital role in maintaining rainforest health by pollinating and dispersing many tree species, so it's crucial that we understand what exists and how to protect it, for our own benefit.”
