Scotoecus pallidus (Dobson, 1876)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Vespertilionidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 716-981 : 761

1.

Desert Yellow Lesser House Bat

Scotoecus pallidus

French: Scotoéque d’Asie / German: Fahle Hausfledermaus / Spanish: Scotoeco de Asia

Other common names: Desert Yellow Bat, Desert Yellow House Bat

Taxonomy. Scotophilus pallidus Dobson, 1876 ,

Mian Mir, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.

Previously placed in Nycticeius , S. pallidus was transferred to Scotoecusas its only Asian member by J. E. Hill in 1974. In 1942, G. H. H. Tate suggested that the name noctulinus, introduced by I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1834, might be an earlier name for the species, but until this is validated the name pallidus is here retained. Monotypic.

Distribution. Pakistan (Punjab and Sindh) and N India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal); it may occur in Maharashtra, WC India.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 47-59 mm, tail 27-2-41 mm, ear 9-15 mm, hindfoot 6-11 mm, forearm 34-39-5 mm; weight 9-14-3 g. Dorsal pelage of the Desert Yellow Lesser House Bat is pale brown tinged with fawn (hairs with pale bases), ventral pelage is grayish white. Ears, wings, and uropatagium are brown. Nostrils are circular, muzzle is broad and flat. Ears are medium-sized with rounded tip; tragus is narrow and long. Uropatagium stretches from well-developed calcar more or less to tail tip (except extreme tip). Penis is extremely elongate (c. 7 mm). Upper surface of skull is flat and broad as in other Scotoecus ; there is one pair of upper and two pairs of lower premolars; rostrum is very broad and gently slopes from incisors to lambdoid crests; zygomatic arches are slender and weak; sagittal crest and lambdoid crests are weakly developed but more pronounced in older individuals, and there is a slight helmetto skull. Dental formula for all members of the genusis11/3,C1/1,P1/2,M 3/3 (x2) = 30.

Habitat. Tropical thorn forests and urban areas. Recorded in a monsoon rice-growing area in Punjab, Pakistan. Ranges from sea level to 2500 m elevation.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. In Bihar, northern India, pregnant females were reported in April, each having two fetuses.

Activity patterns. Desert Yellow Lesser House Bats seem to prefer to roost in crevices in old buildings and hollows in trees.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Up to ten individuals have been recorded together in a colony.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Desert Yellow Lesser House Bat is relatively uncommon throughout its distribution but seems to be tolerant to some habitat alteration. However, the species is locally threatened by habitat loss due to urbanization.

Bibliography. Bates & Harrison (1997), Belanger (1834), Das (2003), Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951), Hill (1974a), Javid (2011), Molur & Srinivasulu (2008a), Molur et al. (2002), Roberts (1997), Rosevear (1965), Salim (2018), Shahbaz et al. (2015), Srinivasulu, C. et al. (2010), Tate (1942b).

Figures

1. Desert Yellow Lesser House Bat (Scotoecus pallidus), 2. Dark-winged Lesser House Bat (Scotoecus hirundo), 3. Light-winged Lesser House Bat (Scotoecus albofuscus), 4. Ruppell’s Bat (Vansonia rueppellii), 5. Indochinese Thick-thumbed Bat (Glischropus bucephalus), 6. Dark Thick-thumbed Bat (Glischropus aquilus), 7. Common Thick-thumbed Bat (Glischropus tylopus), 8. Javan Thick-thumbed Bat (Glischropus javanus), 9. Dormer’s Bat (Scotozous dormeri), 10. Chinese Noctule (Nyctalus plancyi), 11. Bird-like Noctule (Nyctalus aviator), 12. Japanese Noctule (Nyctalus furvus), 13. Mountain Noctule (Nyctalus montanus), 14. Greater Noctule (Nyctalus lasiopterus), 15. Common Noctule (Nyctalus noctula), 16. Leisler’s Noctule (Nyctalus leisleri), 17. Azores Noctule (Nyctalus azoreum)

Distribution. Pakistan (Punjab and Sindh) and N India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal); it may occur in Maharashtra, WC India .