Pipistrellus paterculus, Thomas, 1915

Bates, Paul J. J., Nwe, Tin, Bu, Si Si Hla, Mie, Khin Mie, Swe, Khin Maung, Nyo, Nyo, Khaing, Aye Aye, Aye, Nu Nu, Toke, Yin Yin, Aung, Naing Naing, Thi, Mar Mar & Mackie, Iain, 2005, A review of the genera Myotis, Ia, Pipistrellus, Hypsugo, and Arielulus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Myanmar (Burma), including three species new to the country, Acta Chiropterologica 7 (2), pp. 205-236 : 220-222

Pipistrellus paterculus

Mount Popa Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus paterculus Thomas, 1915b: 32 ; Mount Popa, Upper Burma ( Myanmar)

New material from Myanmar

Mandalay Division: Hintha Cave, 3.12. 2003, 1 ♂ ( MDI.12); Kayin State: Yathay Pyan Cave, 9.3.2001, 1 ♂ (K13).

Previous records from Myanmar

Kachin State: Nam Tisang Valley, Sum- ka Uma, Sumprabum, Ningma ( Hill, 1962), Indawagyi Lake ( Das and Sinha, 1995); Sagaing Division: Tatkon, Homalin, Hkam- ti, Tamanthe ( Wroughton, 1916 a); Kyouk Myoung ( Wroughton, 1916 a = mimus in Wroughton, 1915 a); Mandalay Division: Mount Popa (type locality of paterculus); Pyin Oo Lwin (= Maymyo in BMNH collection); Shan State: Pyaunggaung ( Wroughton, 1916 a = coromandra in Ryley, 1914 ).

Descriptive characters

This is a medium-small pipistrelle with a forearm length of 29.0– 29.6 mm, based on three specimens from Myanmar (Table 4; FA= 29.2–34.0 mm in Bates and Har- rison, 1997, and 30.4–33.1 mm in Hen- drichsen et al., 2001), and with an unusual- ly long penis (> 10 mm). The pelage is a uniform dark chocolate brown on the dor- sal surface. On the ventral surface, the hairs have dark roots but paler, ginger brown tips. The baculum is almost straight, with only a slight indication of incipient curvature and exceeds 9 mm in length ( Fig. 2A ). Its bifid tip is well developed and forms nearly a complete ring at an angle of 45° to the shaft. The zygomata are thin and without processes. The second upper incisor (I3) is about equal in crown area, and attains the height of the secondary cusp of the first in- cisor (I2). The upper canine (C1) is usually without a secondary cusp. The first upper premolar (P2) is about equal in crown area to I2 and is intruded from the toothrow. The crown area of the second lower premolar (P4) slightly exceeds that of first premolar (P2), which is about three-quarters its height.

Similar species

Baculum apart, P. paterculus is dif- ficult to distinguish with certainty from

P. coromandra . However, the penis and ba- culum are longer than in all other local pip- istrelle species except P. abramus , which in contrast has a thin and sinuous baculum with a characteristic double curve when viewed laterally.

Ecology

Both the recent specimens were collect- ed in limestone caves. Yathay-Pyan Cave, which is situated at 50 m above sea level has several large chambers and a complex roof system. It is surrounded by paddy fields and secondary forest. Hintha Cave is at an altitude of 520 m. It is near a stream and a waterfall. The type locality of P. pa- terculus is Mount Popa, which is a 1500 m high extinct volcano. The summit is grassy. At the time of capture, the upper slopes were covered in temperate evergreen forest and cultivated gardens and the lower slopes with dry decidous forest mixed with bam- boo. The surrounding area is dry, open country ( Wroughton, 1915 a). At Kyouk Myoung, it was found in thick scrub ( Wroughton, 1915 a). It is also known from the Shan Plateau having been collected from Pyaunggaung at an altitude of 860 m ( Wroughton, 1916 a).

Pipistrellus ceylonicus

Kelaart’s Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus ceylonicus Kelaart, 1852: 22 ; Trinco- malee, Ceylon

Pipistrellus shanorum Thomas, 1915 b: 29 ; Pyaung- gaung, N. Shan States, 2,800 feet, Burma

Previous records from Myanmar

Shan State: Pyaunggaung (type locality of P. shanorum ). There is no new material.

Descriptive characters

A large pipistrelle with a forearm length of 35.9 mm based on a single specimen from Myanmar ( Table 4; FA = 33.0–42.0 mm in Bates and Harrison, 1997). The hairs on the dorsal surface are silky, medium in

length; the tips are a rich dark brown and the bases darker. The ventral surface is a paler mid-brown, more buff coloured near the vent and with dark hair bases. The fifth metacarpal is about equal in length to the third and fourth. Based on extralimital ma- terial, the baculum has a bilobate base, a thin shaft and a bifid tip ( Figs. 1A and 2D ); it measures 3.8–4.1 mm in length (n = 2, based on a specimen from India illustrated in Hill and Harrison, 1987 and Sri Lanka

[HZM collection]). The skull is large with a robust rostrum. The zygomata are thin and without processes. In P. ceylonicus , the up- per canine (C1) usually has a secondary cusp, although this was not present in the holotype of shanorum . The first upper pre- molar (P2) is about equal in area to the first upper incisor (I2); it is intruded from the toothrow but C1 is not in contact with the second upper premolar (P4). The crown area of the first lower premolar (P2) is about 80% that of the second (P4). Similar species

In P. ceylonicus , the crown area of first upper premolar (P2) is about equal in area to the first upper incisor (I2). This distin- guishes it from P. cadornae , P. joffrei , P. anthonyi , and A. circumdatus , which have a comparable forearm length but in which P2 is greatly reduced. Bacular morphology and the thin zygomata differentiate it from P. af- finis and P. lophurus . Taxonomic notes

Thomas (1915 b) in his original descrip- tion of shanorum suggested that it was ‘closely allied to ceylonicus but smaller’. Corbet and Hill (1992) included shanorum in P. ceylonicus . The pelage is much darker than that of P. c. ceylonicus . Ecology

An adult female was collected on 4 May 1912 at an altitude of 860 m (2800 feet) at Pyaunggaung on the western part of the Shan Plateau. The area is situated on an undulating limestone plateau and accord- ing to Ryley (1914) was given over to the cultivation of ‘wet rice’ in the valley areas with ‘dry rice’ grown on the surrounding hills.

Figures

FIG. 2. Bacula of four species of Pipistrellus. Lateral (above) and dorsal (below) views of: A — P. paterculus. MDI 12, Myanmar; B — P. javanicus. B50, Myanmar; C — P. abramus. HZM.3.32167, Vietnam; D — P. ceylonicus. HZM.3.31458, Sri Lanka, which is included to facilitate size comparisons with Fig. 1. Scale = 2 mm

FIG. 1. Bacula of nine species of Pipistrellus, Arielulus and Ia. Lateral (above) and dorsal (below) views of: A — P. ceylonicus. HZM.3.31458, Sri Lanka; B — P. coromandra. MN2 (HZM.9.35441), Myanmar; C — P. tenuis. MV14 (HZM.11.35444), Myanmar; D — P. pulveratus. BD14, Myanmar; E — P. lophurus. After Hill and Harrison (1987); F — P. cadornae. HZM.3.32165, Vietnam; G — P. affinis. H22 (HZM.2.35125), Myanmar; H — A. circumdatus. After Hill and Harrison (1987); I — I. io. HZM.4.32150, Vietnam. Scale = 2 mm