Ancient creature was three times as large as the average modern bat and walked on its limbs, leading to its

A prehistoric creature dubbed 'Batman' that lived 16 million years ago has been discovered in New Zealand.

Palaeontologists found the fossilised remains of a new bat species that is three times as large as an average modern bat and walked on its limbs, a little like the comic book hero.

The fossil was found near Central Otago on New Zealand’s South Island, which was a vast prehistoric body of water known as Lake Manuherikia.

Palaeontologists found the fossilised remains, including teeth (pictured) of a new bat species called Mystacina miocenalis that's three times as large as an average modern bat and walked on its limbs

The lake itself was part of a subtropical rainforest when the creature lived in the early Miocene.

The new species, named Mystacina miocenalis, was described in the journal Plos One and is related to another bat, Mystacina tuberculata, which still lives in New Zealand’s old growth forests.

‘Our discovery shows for the first time that Mystacina bats have been present in New Zealand for upwards of 16 million years, residing in habitats with very similar plant life and food sources,’ said Associate Professor Suzanne Hand, a vertebrate palaeontologist from the University of New South Wales in Australia and lead author of the study.

The newly discovered ancient species is related to another bat, Mystacina tuberculata, (pictured) which still lives in New Zealand’s old growth forests. It too scuttles along the forest floor to hunt

The prehistoric creature dubbed 'Batman' lived 16 million years ago in New Zealand. The comparison is drawn because the creature was large and powerful and could 'walk' on its legs, a tiny bit like the super hero (played by Christian Bale, pictured)

New Zealand’s only native terrestrial mammals are three species of bat which include two belonging to the Mystacina genus - one of which was last sighted in the 1960s.

They are known as burrowing bats because they forage on the ground under leaf-litter and snow by scuttling on their wrists and backward-facing feet, while keeping their wings tightly furled. They are also able to hunt in the air.

Mystacina bats were thought to have an ancient history in New Zealand, but until now, the oldest fossil of a Mystacina bat in New Zealand was from a cave in South Island, dating to 17,500 years ago.

The fossil was found near Central Otago on New Zealand’s South Island (the region is shaded in red on the map), which was a vast prehistoric body of water known as Lake Manuherikia

The new discovery has forced experts to rethink when the peculiar walking bats first arrived from what is present-day Australia.

Professor Hand said: ‘This helps us understand the capacity of bats to establish populations on islands and the climatic conditions required for this to happen.

‘Bats are important pollinators and seed dispersers that keep forests healthy.

The fossil was excavated (pictured) from what was Lake Manuherikia around 16 million years ago

‘Understanding the connectivity between the bat faunas of different landmasses is important for evaluating biosecurity threats and conservation priorities for fragile island ecosystems.’

The new species has similar teeth to its contemporary relative, suggesting it ate a varied diet that included nectar, pollen and fruit, as well as insects and spiders.

Limb bones found in the fossil deposit also showed similar structures specialised for walking.

But at an estimated 40 grams, the fossil bat was roughly three times heavier than its living cousin as well as the average living bat.

Professor Hand said: ‘The size of bats is physically constrained by the demands of flight and echolocation, as you need to be small, quick and accurate to chase insects in the dark.

‘The unusually large size of this bat suggests it was doing less in-flight hunting and was taking heavier prey from the ground, and larger fruit than even its living cousin.’

The team also found a diverse array of plant, animal and insect fossils at the site, which shows that the 16-million-year-old subtropical ecosystem bore some resemblance to the more temperate one that exists today.

‘Remarkably, the Miocene ecosystems associated with the fossil bat contain the kinds of trees used today by Mystacina for its colonial roosts,’ Professor Hand said.

‘Most of its food plants are also represented, as are terrestrial arthropods including a variety of beetles, ants and spiders, which these bats continue to hunt on the ground.’