Rhinolophus macrotis, Blyth, 1844

Burgin, Connor, 2019, Rhinolophidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 280-332 : 300-301

42 . Big-eared Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus macrotis

French: Rhinolophe a grandes oreilles / German: Grosohr-Hufeisennase t Spanish: Herradura de orejas grandes

Other common names: Great-eared Horseshoe Bat

Taxonomy. Rhinolophus macrotis Blyth, 1844 ,

Nepal .

Rhinolophus macrotis is in the macrotis species group along with A osgoodi , R episcopus, R siamensis , R schnitzleri , R rex , and R marshalli . The macrotis group is included in the Asiatic clade of Rhinolophus and is sister to a clade including the philippinensis and megaphyllus groups. Rhinolophus macrotis was considered to be paraphyletic with R siamensis , but following a recent in-depth phylogenetic study by Liu Tong and colleagues in 2019, taxa previously attributed to R macrotis and "hinolophus spi” are now assigned to the elevated A episcopus (including caldwelli as a subspecies) and R osgoodi , respectively. G. Csorba and P. J. J. Bates in 2016 described topalius as the replacement name for subspecies topati. The below four subspecies are still recognized as belonging to R macrotis sensu stricto pending further molecular biological analyses. However, in the light of the recent integrative studies of the macrotis complex, biogeographical considerations, and since they can be readily distinguished based on morphology, they almost definitely represent separate species.

Subspecies and Distribution.

R m. macrotis Blyth, 1844 - N India (Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland), extreme N Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar.

R m. dohmi K. Andersen, 1907 - Malay Peninsula (including Tioman I) and N & C Sumatra.

R m. hirsutusiL Andersen, 1905 - Philippines (Luzon, Samar , Guimaras, Negros , Palawan, and Mindanao Is ).

R m. topalius Csorba & Bates, 2016 - N Pakistan and possibly NW India.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 42-51 mm, tail 12-33 mm, ear 18-29 mm, hindfoot 9-10 mm, forearm 40-50 mm; weight 4-4-9- 5 g. Subspecies are distinguishable by shape and relative size of different parts of nasal foliation and position and development of lower premolars. Dorsal pelage is generally light brown or pale brown (subspecies topalius); venter is paler buff. Only subspecies hirsutus has an orange morph. Ears are relatively large. Lancet is long, with convex or more or less straight lateral margins and rounded or a little pointed tip; connecting process is high and rounded, being almost parallel to sella at lower part; sella is long and upward pointed, broad, rounded, roughly tongue-shaped, and covered in long, dense hair on front (sides are sometimes convex); and horseshoe is broad at 6-8— 10 mm, covers muzzle, has lateral leaflets that are partly or fully concealed by horseshoe, and has small but distinct median emargination. Lower lip has three medial grooves. Skull has elongated facial features; zygomatic width is less than or rarely subequal to mastoid width; anterior median swellings are well inflated and elongated; posterior median swellings are short and small; sagittal crest is weak across skull; frontal depression is shallow or of medium development; and supraorbital crests are conspicuous, often with sharp ridges. P2 is small but in tooth row, not allowing C1 and P4 to touch; placement of P3 varies between subspecies, with all subspecies except topalius having larger P3 that is usually in tooth row or slighdy displaced labially, and topalius has dny P3 that extrudes labially; and P2 and P4 either touch or are separated.

Habitat. Generally subtropical or tropical moist forests, especially lowland tropical moist forests in Malay Peninsula, from sea level to elevations of c. 1692 m. Big-eared Horseshoe Bats have also been recorded in secondary forests. In the Philippines, they are found in primary and secondary lowland tropical moist forests from sea level to 620 m.

Food and Feeding. The Big-eared Horseshoe Bat is insectivorous and flies rapidly and high to apparently catch small flies and beetles. It feeds on insects below the canopy in the Philippines.

Breeding. Pregnant Big-eared Horseshoe Bats have been collected in February-March in Penang, Malaysia, and lactating females were captured in July in Nepal. Litter size is one.

Activity patterns. Big-eared Horseshoe Bats are nocturnal. They roost in caves and abandoned mine shafts, particularly in limestone caves in Nepal and Myanmar. Call shape is FM/CF/FM, and mean F component has been recorded at 48 kHz in Malaysia, and 50 kHz and 55-1 kHz in the Philippines.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Big-eared Horseshoe Bats are known to share roosts with other species of Rhinolophus , Hipposideros, Myotis, Eptesicus , and Miniopterus .

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN ed List. The Bigeared Horseshoe Bat does not seem to have any major threats throughout its distribution, but there is very little knowledge of its ecology and specific threats. It might be threatened locally by deforestation for timber and agricultural use or cave tourism.

Bibliography. Bates & Harrison (1997), Csorba & Bates (1995, 2016a), Csorba et al. (2003), Esselstyn, Widmann & Heaney (2004), Francis (2008a), Heaney, Baiete, Dolar et al. (1998), Heaney, Balete & Rickart (2016), Li Yuanyuan et al. (2014), LiuTong et al. (2019), Molur, Srinivasulu & rancis (2008), Sedlock (2001), Sediock, Ingle & Balete (2011), Sedlock, Jose et al. (2014), Shi Limin et al. (2009), Smith & XieYan (2008), Sun Keping et al. (2008), Tu Vuong Tan, Hassanin et al. (2017), WuYi eta/. (2008), Zhang Lin et al. (2018).

Figures

On following pages: 27. African Forest Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus silvestris); 28. Upland Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hillorum); 29. Sakeji Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus sakejiensis); 30. Bokhara Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus bocharicus); 31. Greater Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum); 32. Geoffrey's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus clivosus); 33. Greater Japanese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus nippon); 34. Horacek's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus horaceki); 35. Maclaud's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus maclaudi); 36. Ziama Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ziama); 37. Hill's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hilli); 38. Kahuzi Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus kahuzi); 39. Willard's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus willardi); 40. Ruwenzori Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ruwenzorii); 41. Chinese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus xinanzhongguoensis); 42. Big-eared Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus macrotis); 43. Osgood's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus osgoodi); 44. Allen's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus episcopus); 45. Thai Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus siamensis); 46, Schnitzler's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus schnitzten); M. King Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus rex); 48. Marshall’s Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus marshalli).

Subspecies and Distribution. R m. macrotis Blyth, 1844 - N India (Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland), extreme N Bangladesh, Nepal , Bhutan , and Myanmar . R m. dohmi K. Andersen, 1907 - Malay Peninsula (including Tioman I) and N & C Sumatra. R m. hirsutusiL Andersen, 1905 - Philippines (Luzon, Samar , Guimaras, Negros , Palawan, and Mindanao Is ). R m. topalius Csorba & Bates, 2016 - N Pakistan and possibly NW India .