It uses its wings as forelegs. Its thumb and toe claws have a unique extra talon for extra grip, plus a system of adhesive, gecko-like grooves in the soft, deeply wrinkled soles of its feet,

'Unlike for birds, there is currently no evidence that any bat has evolved a reduced capacity for flight as a result of isolation on islands,' says Hand, according to an UNSW release.

A small secretive creature with velvety fur, the lesser short-tailed bat is New Zealand's only terrestrial mammal: it spends long periods on the ground in heavily forested areas, hunting insects and seeking out fruit, nectar and pollen.

The study was published in BMC Evolutionary Biology.