2013 New Zealand Annual Coin: Short-tailed Bat
Whilst New Zealand is home to an array of native animals including birds, fish, insects, lizards and frogs, its only native land mammal is the bat. New Zealand’s unique short-tailed bat needs our help in order to survive and this distinctive creature is the subject of the 2013 New Zealand Annual Coin.
Issue information
Each year New Zealand Post’s annual coin highlights the plight of an endangered native species, and whilst the greater short-tailed bat (Mystacina robusta) is sadly thought to be extinct, the lesser short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata) is the only member of its family, Mystacinidae, known to have survived.
Unique to New Zealand, the short-tailed bat is listed by the Department of Conservation as a ‘species of highest conservation priority’. This distinctive animal, found at only a few scattered sites across New Zealand, has three sub-species: the kauri forest short-tailed bat, the volcanic plateau short-tailed bat and the southern short-tailed bat.
This unusual mammal is very small in size, weighing only 12 to 15 grams. It is a mousy-grey colour with a free tail and can be recognised by its large pointed ears. Interestingly, the short-tailed bat has developed habits typical of many of New Zealand’s flightless birds, and is one of the few bats in the world that spend large amounts of time on the forest floor. It has adapted to ground hunting and uses its folded wings as front limbs to move around.
