Hipposideros armiger, Hodgson, 1835

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Hipposideridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 227-258 : 237-238

27.

Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat

Hipposideros armiger

French: Phyllorhine de I'Himalaya I German: Grosse Himalaya-Rundblattnase / Spanish: Hiposidérido de Himalaya

Other common names: Great Leaf-nosed Bat, Great Roundleaf Bat

Taxonomy. Rhinolphus [sic] armiger Hodgson, 1835 ,

“Nipal [= Nepal].”

Hipposideros armiger is in the armiger species group. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

H. a. armiger Hodgson, 1835 -N India, Nepal, Myanmar, C & S China (including Hainan I), and mainland SE Asia except Vietnam.

H. a. fujianensis Zhen, 1987 -SE China (Fujian).

H. a. terasensis Kishida, 1924 — Taiwan I.

H. a. traninhensis Bourret, 1942 — Vietnam.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 80— 110 mm, tail 48-70 mm, ear 30-35 mm, hindfoot 13-17 mm, forearm 85—103 mm; weight 44-67 g. Males are usually larger than females. Ears of the Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat are large and have a pointed tip. Hair is long and soft, and dark brown. Tail is long, with tip free from interfemoral membrane. Noseleaf is rather small and does not cover muzzle. There are four supplementary leaflets, outer one being very small. Intermediate leaf is thick and swollen. Posterior leaf is thick but narrower than anterior leaf. Adult males have a thick, swollen structure behind posterior leaf. Skull is large with well-developed sagittal crest. Rostrum and supraorbital region are gready inflated. C1 and j are heavily built. P2 is small and extruded from tooth row, so that C1 and P4 are in contact. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 32 and FN = 60.

Habitat. The Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat forages in primary and disturbed forests, seeking its food in the forest itself or in other vegetation near caves. It is also recorded in orchards and rubber plantations.

Food and Feeding. The Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat feeds on insects, mostly o leoptera and Hymenoptera, in forest understory and around trees. It sometimes flies high and fast in open spaces, perhaps while commuting to and from foraging sites.

Breeding. Females were found pregnant from January to early May. Young Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bats were seen attached to females in the roost from February to June.

Activity patterns. The Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat often roosts in large numbers in caves. Its echolocation calls are typical F components terminating with a FM tail, with the frequency of the F part of 65—75 kHz.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat forms small to very large colonies in caves. Each individual usually has a roosting space of c. 10-20 cm from other individuals. It is often found in mixed colonies with other large Hipposideros species, such as Diadem Leaf-nosed Bats ( H. diadema ), Large Asian Leaf-nosed Bats ( H. lekaguli ), or Shield-feced Leaf-nosed Bats ( H. lylei ).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCNRed List. The Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat is widespread and rather common in cave habitats. It has been recorded from several protected areas throughout its range.

Bibliography. Bates, Bumrungsri, Francis & Csorba (2008), Corbet & Hill (1992), Francis (2008a), Hughes eta/. (2010), Lekagul & McNeely (1988), Simmons (2005).

Figures

24. Large-eared Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros megalotis), 25. Boeadi’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros boeadii), 26. Ha Long Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros alongensis), 27. Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros armiger), 28. Griffin’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros griffoni), 29. Pendlebury’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros pendleburyi), 30. Lesser Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros turpis), 31. Grand Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros grandis), 32. Horsfield’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros larvatus), 33. Maduran Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros madurae), 34. Sorensen’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros sorenseni), 35. Sumban Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros sumbae), 36. Shield-faced Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros lylei), 37. Pratt’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros pratti), 38. Shield-nosed Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros scutinares), 39. Makira Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros demissus), 40. Diadem Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros diadema), 41. Fierce Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros dinops), 42. Crested Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros inexpectatus), 43. Amhem Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros inomatus), 44. Indian Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros lankadiva), 45. Large Asian Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros lekaguli), 46. Peleng Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros pelingensis)

Subspecies and Distribution. H. a. armiger Hodgson, 1835 -N India , Nepal , Myanmar , C & S China (including Hainan I), and mainland SE Asia except Vietnam . H. a. fujianensis Zhen, 1987 -SE China (Fujian). H. a. terasensis Kishida, 1924 — Taiwan I. On following pages: 28. Griffin's Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros griffin/}; 29. Pendlebury's Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros grandis }; 32. Horsfield's Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros larvatus }; 33. Maduran Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros madurae sumbae }; 36. Shield-faced Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros lylei }; 37. Pratt's Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros pratti }; 38. 40. Diadem Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros diadema }; 41. Fierce Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros dinops }; 42. Crested Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros lankadiva }; 45. Large Asian Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros lekaguli }; 46. Peleng Leaf-nosed pendleburyi ); 30. Lesser Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros turpis }; 31. Grand Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros }; 34. Sorensen's Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros sorensenl); 35. Sumban Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros Shield-nosed Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros scutinares }; 39. Makira Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros demissus }; Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros inexpectatus }; 43. Arnhem Leaf-nosed Bat ( Hipposideros inornatus }; 44. Indian Bat ( Hipposideros pelingensis }. H. a. traninhensis Bourret, 1942 — Vietnam .