Mystacinidae

species of mammal

species of mammal

__NOTOC__ Mystacinidae is a family of unusual bats, the New Zealand short-tailed bats. There is one living genus, Mystacina, with two species, one of which could have possibly become extinct in the 1960s. They are medium-sized bats, about in length, with grey, velvety fur.

Mystacina is the sole surviving genus of the Mystacinidae family of bats. It has three known species, of which only the New Zealand lesser short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata) is confirmed to survive today. The closely related New Zealand greater short-tailed bat (Mystacina robusta) has not had a confirmed sighting since 1965 and is thought to be extinct. The third species, Mystacina miocenalis, is known from the Middle Miocene, some 19–16 million years ago.

Vulcanops jennyworthyae is an extinct species of bat that lived during the Miocene in New Zealand, a large burrowing microchiropteran that probably ate arthropods and plant material around twenty million years before present. It is the type and only described species of the genus Vulcanops.

Icarops is an extinct, possibly paraphyletic genus of mystacine bat with three described species. The genus is known from fossils found at Riversleigh, north-western Queensland, Bullock Creek, Northern Territory, and Lake Ngapakaldi to Lake Palankarinna Fossil Area South Australia Australia. The fossils date from the late Oligocene to early Miocene.