NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Arafura Large-footed Bat
Myotis (Myotis) moluccarum (Thomas, 1915)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
geographic distribution of Myotis moluccarum
compiled by rbrausse with Quantum GIS Map data: Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Range data: Reardon, T. & Bonaccorso, F. 2008. Myotis moluccarum. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 29 October 2012. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Maluku myotis (Myotis moluccarum), also commonly known as the Arafura large-footed bat, is a species of mouse-eared bat. Native to Indonesia, and possibly New Guinea and northern Australia, it one of several species known as "fishing bats" because they catch their prey on the surface of water, scooping it up with their large feet.
Wikipedia contributors, Maluku myotis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:41:03.849804+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Myotis (Myotis) moluccarum (Thomas, 1915)
- Name authority
- (Thomas, 1915)
- Common name
- Arafura Large-footed Bat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Chiroptera
- Family
- Vespertilionidae
- Genus
- Myotis
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderChiroptera Blumenbach, 1779
- suborderYangochiroptera Koopman, 1984
- superfamilyVespertilionoidea Gray, 1821
- familyVespertilionidae Gray, 1821
- subfamilyMyotinae Tate, 1942
- genusMyotis Kaup, 1829
- subgenusMyotis Kaup, 1829
- speciesMyotis (Myotis) moluccarum (Thomas, 1915)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Myotis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Silver-tipped MyotisMyotis (Pizonyx) albescens (E. Geoffroy, 1806) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sichuan MyotisMyotis (Myotis) altarium Thomas, 1911 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Anna Tess's MyotisMyotis (Myotis) annatessae Kruskop & Borisenko, 2013 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chestnut MyotisMyotis (Myotis) badius Tiunov, Kruskop & Feng, 2011 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bechstein's MyotisMyotis (Myotis) bechsteinii (Kuhl, 1817) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lesser Mouse-eared MyotisMyotis (Myotis) blythii (Tomes, 1857) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brandt's MyotisMyotis (Pizonyx) brandtii (Eversmann, 1845) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| California MyotisMyotis (Pizonyx) californicus (Audubon & Bachman, 1842) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chilean MyotisMyotis (Pizonyx) chiloensis (Waterhouse, 1840) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Small-footed MyotisMyotis (Pizonyx) ciliolabrum (Merriam, 1886) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Indochinese MyotisMyotis (Myotis) indochinensis Son, Görföl, Francis, Motokawa, Estók, Endo, Thong, Dang, Oshida & Csorba, 2013 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Insular MyotisMyotis (Myotis) insularum (Dobson, 1878) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Anamygdon solomonis Troughton, 1929 Troughton, 1929 | synonym |
| Myotis moluccarum solomonis (Troughton, 1929) (Troughton, 1929) | synonym |
| Leuconoe moluccarum Thomas, 1915 Thomas, 1915 | synonym |
| Myotis moluccarum moluccarum (Thomas, 1915) (Thomas, 1915) | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Southern Asia
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=946252 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:456FX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.