Rhinolophus shameli, Tate, 1943

Burgin, Connor, 2019, Rhinolophidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 280-332 : 322

89 . Shamel’s Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus shameli

French: Rhinolophe de Shamel / German: Shamel-Hufeisennase / Spanish: Herradura de Shamel

Taxonomy. Rhinolophus coelophyllus shameli Tate, 1943 ,

“ Koh Chang (Island), Gulf of Siam, Siam [= Thailand].”

Rhinolophus shameli is included in the euryotis species group, and appears to be sister to the rest of the euryotis group or as close to R. stheno , although this is based on limited genetic data. R. shameli appears to be closely related to R. coelophyllus , based on morphology; the two are often confused, and some records of each were previously attributed to the wrong species. Monotypic.

Distribution. E & SE Thailand (including Koh Chang), C & S Laos, S Vietnam (including Phu Quoc I), and Cambodia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 47-48- 1 mm, tail 17-23 mm, ear 16-1-21- 4 mm, hindfoot 7-5-10- 2 mm, forearm 43- 4-48 mm; weight 7-5-12- 5 g. Dorsal pelage varies from gray or bufiy brown to darker brown or reddish orange brown (base of hairs paler); ventral pelage varies from pale bufiy brown to nearly creamy white in some individuals, or is slighdy paler orange in reddish individuals. Noseleaf has very short and thick lancet with convex outline; connecting process is arched and proximally inserted into densely haired vertical fissure in lancet; sella is short with almost parallel or continuously convergent sides and rounded tip; horseshoe is moderately wide (9-11 - 4 mm) but wider on average than in the Croslet Horseshoe Bat (. coelophyllus ), and has weakly developed lateral leaflets. Lower lip has three mental grooves. Skull is moderately robust (zygomatic width is greater than mastoid width, sometimes barely); sagittal crest is moderately developed; anterior median and lateral swellings are very well developed; posterior swellings are less developed; entire rostral swelling is larger than that of the Croslet Horseshoe Bat; frontal depression is shallow; supraorbital crests are low and not sharp. P2 is moderate in size and within tooth row, separating C1 from P4; P3 is small (occasionally absent) and is extruded from tooth row, and P2 and P4 are usually touching. Dental formula is the usual of 32 teeth for the genus, or only 30 teeth when a lower premolar is missing.

Habitat. A variety of forest habitats, such as mixed deciduous forests, deciduous and dwarf dipterocarp forests, dry evergreen forests, and lowland evergreen forests. Shamel’s Horseshoe Bat is known from both disturbed and undisturbed habitats and is often associated with lowland regions.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Pregnant females have been captured between December and April in Chachoengsao Province, Thailand, and in February in Cambodia. Two lactating females were collected in July in Vietnam.

Activity patterns. Shamel’s Horseshoe Bat roosts in caves and caverns. Calls are a FM/ CF/FM shape with peak F recorded at 67-5-70-8 kHz across Thailand and Cambodia, and 65-68-2 kHz in Vietnam.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Shamel’s Horseshoe Bat is relatively widespread and common throughout its distribution and does not seem to face any major threats at present.

Bibliography. Abramov et al. (2007), Bates, Bumrungsri, rancis, Csorba, Walston & Thong Vu Dinh (2008), Csorba et al. (2003), Francis (2008a), Ith et al. (2011), Kruskop (2013a), Phauk et al. (2013), Stoffberg et al. (2010), Thong Vu Dinh et al. (2006), Zhang Lin et al. (2018).

Figures

On following pages: 78. New Guinea Broad-eared Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus euryotis); 79. Sulawesi Broad-eared Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus tatah; 80. Poso Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus belligerator); 81. Bornean Woolly Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus proconsulis); 82. Arcuate Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus arcuatus); 83. Philippine Forest Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus inops); 84. Small Rufous Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus subrufus); 85. Large Rufous Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus rufus); 86. Intermediate Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus affinis); 87. Homfray's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus andamanensis); 88. Croslet Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus coelophyllus); 89. Shamel's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus shameli); 90. Vietnamese Brown Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus microglobosus); 91. Lesser Brown Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus stheno).

Distribution. E & SE Thailand (including Koh Chang), C & S Laos , S Vietnam (including Phu Quoc I), and Cambodia .