Koolan Island Zoological notes 
259 
on Koolan in November 1959 (M4481, one of 
three males). Subsequent specimens include 
M6050, M7161-3 and M10606. In February 1993 
we saw one at the swimming pool in town at 
dusk, and trapped an adult male in savanna 
woodland on steep sandstone scree (16°08'40"S, 
123°47'35"E). 
Muridae 
Zyzomys argurus (Thomas). The first specimen 
(M7562) was captured in August 1966. More 
recent specimens include M18568 (Kitchener 
1989) and M24302-3. Seen crossing gravel road 
at night in open savanna woodland on 
sandstone scree. Also found in town garden 
sheds, under bags and nesting in potting mix. A 
56.5 gm female with two 9.5 gm young attached 
to its nipples was found on 8 January 1990. 
Pteropodidae 
Pteropus alecto Temminck. Collected as a skull 
(M7848, adult) by O. Milton in 1967. The species 
has also been seen during the day, roosting in 
the mangroves south of town, and in Ficus 
racemosa in town. It was common in the savanna 
woodlands and town in all seasons except the 
mid-dry (May - July). It fed on flowering 
Eucalyptus miniata from August until 
November/December when the blossom 
finished, then on garden mangos ( Matigifera 
indica) for a month or so until they finished 
fruiting, after which it fed on flowering 
Eucalyptus confertiflora until late April (L.F., 
pers. obs.). On the nights of 11 and 12 February 
1993, one was observed feeding on the flowers 
of Eucalyptus cadophora (Collection Nos: 
Keighery and Gibson 15 and 95, PERTH) at site 
T2 in town (Fig. 1). 
Macroglossus minimus (Geoffroy). In 1989, one was 
captured in L.F.'s house in town at the time that 
her African Sausage Tree was flowering. It was 
subsequently released. We netted an adult 
female (not pregnant, not lactating) and an 
adult male at night on 11 February 1993 in the 
mangrove low forest south of town (mainly 
Sonneratia alba, Camptostemon schultzii, Ceriops 
tagal, Avicennia marina and Rhizophora stylosa). 
Megadermatidae 
Macroderma gigas (Dobson). Four specimens from 
Koolan are held by the W.A. Museum (M19707- 
10, June 1965). They belong to a series of seven 
males and four females that W.H. Butler took 
from their day-roost in "one of the old Japanese 
tunnels opposite the conveyer and the ore bin" 
(W.H. Butler, unpublished field notes). These 
adits were on the south side of the island near 
the loading jetty, but have subsequently been 
excavated as part of the ore-body. 
Hipposideridae 
Htpposideros stenotis Thomas. The W.A. Museum 
Table 3 Observed foraging microhabitats of bats from Koolan Island in relation to species flight indices. Values were 
estimated using the method for live bats described in McKenzie et al. (1995). Where live bats were not taken 
on Koolan, values from adults taken elsewhere in the region have been used (mean +/- standard error). 
Island Foraging 
Microhabitat' 
Aspect Ratio 
Wing Loading 
(g cm' 2 ) 
Tip Index 
Hipposideros stenotis 
hsl 
6.22 
0.045 
1.48 
hs2 closed 
5.98 
0.039 
1.72 
M23057” 
6.26 
0.037 
1.86 
Nyctophilus arnhemensis 
na3 closed 
5.82 
0.046 
1.33 
Vespadalus caurinus b (n = 7) 
edge 
6.35 (0.08) 
0.040 (0.001) 
1.34 (0.03) 
Chalinolobus nigrogriseus 
92/1 edge 
6.80 
0.053 
1.16 
Chalinolobus gouldiP (n = 4) 
edge 
6.67 (0.06) 
.063 (0.001) 
0.95 (0.02) 
Taphozous georgianus b (n = 11) 
open 
7.71 (0.05) 
0.085 (0.003) 
0.90 (0.02) 
Saccolaimus flaviventris d (n = 1) 
open 
9.09 
0.111 
1.01 
' Categories follow Fenton (1990). 
* Bathurst Island; b Kununurra; c Barred Creek, near Broome; d Mitchell Plateau. 
