Kerivoula kachinensis Bates et al., 2004

Thong, Vu Dinh, Bumrungsri, Sara, Harrison, David L., Pearch, Malcolm J., Helgen, Kristofer M. & Bates, Paul J. J., 2006, New records of Microchiroptera (Rhinolophidae and Kerivoulinae) from Vietnam and Thailand, Acta Chiropterologica 8 (1), pp. 83-93 : 91

Kerivoula kachinensis Bates et al., 2004

Kachin woolly bat

Kerivoula kachinensis (Bates et al., 2004) : 220; Namdee Forest, Bhamo Township, Kachin State, Myanmar, 24°34’N, 97°08’E

New material, previous records and distri- bution

Vietnam: Chu Mom Ray National Park, Kon Tum Province (14°28’N, 107°47’E, 750 ma.s.l.), 28 June, 2005, 1 ♂ (CMR-28) and 2 ♀♀ (CMR-25, VN014-S411) collect- ed by Vu Dinh Thong and Pham Duc Tien; Muong Mo , Lai Chau Province (22°13’N, 102°55’E, 229 ma.s.l.), 14 March, 1929, 1 ♂ (FMNH 33209) collected by R. W. Hendee. These are the first published re- cords for Vietnam. Previously, K. kachinen- sis was known only from southern Kachin State, Myanmar (Bates et al., 2004).

Description and taxonomic notes

With forearm lengths of 40.4–43.4 mm (see Table 1), the four Vietnamese speci- mens of K. kachinensis compare favourably in size to the holotype (41.3 mm — Bates et al., 2004). Since the holotype was a wet specimen, the pelage colour could not be determined accurately. It is therefore of in- terest to describe for the first time the pelage of a prepared skin ( VN 014-S411). The hairs on both the dorsal and ventral as- pects have grey-brown roots, the mid-parts are pale whitish grey and the tips are buff to mid-brown; the ventral surface is slightly paler than the dorsal. Notably, the overall pelage coloration is darker brown than the fur of Kerivoula papillosa , with which K. kachinensis is most likely to be confused when examined in the field. Other charac- ters such as the ears, wings and tail are as described for the Myanmar specimen by Bates et al. (2004). The skulls of the Viet- namese specimens, with condylo-canine lengths of 15.5–16.3 mm (see Table 2), likewise agree in size with the holotype (15.5 mm). Their most obvious feature is

the flattened braincase. This is similar to the holotype, with a relative height of braincase (BH/GBB × 100%) of 66.5% (62.9–69.6%, SD = 2.8, n = 4) compared to 64.0% in the holotype and 86.4% (80.6–91.6%, n = 22) in K. papillosa (Bates et al., 2004) . The hol- otype of K. kachinensis was an old adult with worn teeth. The current specimens agree with the description of the dentition by Bates et al. (2004) and in addition con- firm that the upper canine has a well-de- fined cingulum on its internal border and that the third lower incisor (I3) has a well- defined central cusp and lateral cusps. Addi- tional measurements (in mm) not included in Table 2 are BH: 5.4 (5.1–5.6, n = 4); GBB: 8.2 (8.1–8.4, n = 4). The Muong Mo specimen, previously included in the Field Museum collection as K. papillosa , was col- lected more than seven decades prior to the description of K. kachinensis from Myan- mar (Bates et al., 2004) but never received critical study.

Ecological notes and conservation status

The three recent specimens were col- lected on 28 June, 2005 in Chu Mom Ray National Park. For further details of the study site see Methods and also Ecological notes for R. shameli . The conservation sta- tus of K. kachinensis has not been assessed (Hutson et al., 2001).