"[3] The genus Chalinolobus is characterised by fleshy lobes located on their lower lips and at the bottom of their ears.

[5] The long-tailed bat is one of two extant and three total terrestrial mammals endemic to the islands of New Zealand.

[7] Chalinolobus tuberculatus are members of the suborder Yangochiroptera within the family Vespertilionidae which contains four subfamilies; Vespertilioninae, Murininae, Myotinae and Kerivoulinae.

[10] Vesper bats are an incredibly diverse family with 59 genera, and would have faced extensive radiation shortly after their emergence.

[10] Chalinolobus is predominantly found in Oceania, a geographic region which includes Australasia, Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia.

[10] Genetic data indicates that Chalinolobus is very closely related to other genera within the Vespertilionidae family, many of which are also found in Oceania.

[10] Divergence from these related genera is believed to have occurred in the Miocene, a significant time of environmental and climatic changes.

This era coincided with the development of Australia’s arid environment, which contrasts vastly when New Zealand’s dense forest ecosystems.

[12] The diversification of species within the Chalinolobus genus likely took place between 5 and 10 million years ago, driven by the need to adapt to the differing environments found throughout Oceania.

[15] The long-tailed bat is solely insectivorous, with faeces samples suggesting both terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates.

[15] In general, flies (Diptera) are their most significant source of food, however, they are an insectivorous generalist, meaning they will consume whichever insects are readily abundant in their habitat.

[15] The Fiordland population will often begin foraging 54 minutes before sunset, this came as a result of temperature and invertebrate abundance declining.

[20] This involves the emission of rapid pulses of high frequency sounds which they can then detect the echoes of when it hits objects nearby.

[20] This causes confusion for the bats and explains the evolution of aerial hawking in this species, as the sound can travel more distance and has less objects present to disrupt the signal.

Individuals of the long-tailed bat species will frequently move between being communal and being solitary in their roosting behaviour.

As a result of the very variable and seasonally influenced source of nutrition for this species, the adaptation of entering a state of torpor is incredibly important.

The fluctuating body temperature and high rate of metabolism observed in this species means that they need to be able to enter this state during cold, wet periods of time.

[25] While this process is similar to hibernation in that it involves slowing down the metabolic rate, it differs in that bouts of torpor are short and repetitive.

[27] In regard to population structure, reproductive females are the most dominant individuals at communal roosts, accounting for 62.8% of adults.

[28] The major threats for this species are mammalian predators, human and bird interference of roosts, logging of lowland forests and urbanisation.

[27] During periods where stoat and rat presence is increased, major population declines occur for this species, and recovery is only partially effective until the next predation outbreak causes an even larger reduction.

[27] Current conservation efforts are being carried out by DOC, with frequent surveying and banding to understand more about the population dynamics of this species.

Eglinton Valley in Fiordland has been the focus of this initiative, where the population has shown significant increase as a result of conservation efforts.

[28] Monitoring is currently the most important factor in understanding how this species can be brought back from the brink of extinction.