This unusual species of flying fox was recently discovered in the Philippines not long after it was deemed not to exist.
Jake Esselstyn, a biologist with the University of Kansas, was among a team of researchers that found the animal, a type of fruit bat, last year while surveying forest life on the island of Mindoro (see Philippines map).
"When we first arrived on Mindoro, a local resident that we hired as a guide described the bat to me in great detail, and he asked me what it was called," Esselstyn said.
"I politely told him that there was no such bat. I was wrong."
Several days into the survey, the scientists accidentally captured a creature in a net that fit the guide's description: a large flying fox with bright orange fur and distinctive white stripes across its brow and jaw.
"Our guide's description of the animal was quite accurate, and I had to apologize for not believing him," Esselstyn said, adding that the animal is now known as the Mindoro stripe-faced fruit bat.
In his own defense, the scientist pointed out that the species' closest known relative lives some 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) away on an island in Indonesia.
"It makes you wonder if there are other related species on islands between [the two]," he said.
"It also makes you realize how there are probably many more species which have yet to be discovered—in the Philippines and elsewhere," Esselstyn added.
"This discovery emphasizes the need for a great deal more basic biodiversity inventory research."
译文:
发现了 "不存在" 的飞狐
最近在菲律宾发现了飞狐这种不寻常的物种, 而在这不久之前它还被人们认为是不存在的.
Jake Esselstn, 堪萨斯大学的生物学家是发现水果蝙蝠类型动物的研究小组成员之一, 他们是去年在Mindoro岛研究当地的丛林生活时发现的.
Esselstyn说: "当我们初次抵达Mindoro的时候, 一个我们雇佣的当地向导详细地向我描述了这种蝙蝠, 并且他问我这种蝙蝠叫什么名字"
"我礼貌地告诉他没有这样的蝙蝠. 我错了."
研究工作进行了几天后, 科学家们偶然地用网捕到了一种动物, 正符合向导所描述的那样: 一种大型的会飞的狐狸, 身上的皮毛是亮橙色的, 额头和下颚有明显地白色地条纹.
"我们的向导对这种动物的描述非常精确, 我必须要对我以前对他的不信任表示道歉" , Esselstyn说, 并补充说这种动物现在就被称为Mindor条纹脸的水果蝙蝠并广为人知.
从科学家自己的角度解释并指出这个物种已知的最近的近亲居住在印度尼西亚洲750英里(1,200公里)远的一个岛屿上.
他说: " 这不禁使你想知道是否在这两者之间岛屿上还有其他近亲物种存在. 这也使你意识到可能还有许许多多物种等着被发现-- 在菲律宾和其他地方." Esselstyn 补充说.
这个发现突出了对于更多的大量地基础性的多种类型生物数量的研究需求.