Rhinolophus lepidus, Blyth, 1844

Burgin, Connor, 2019, Rhinolophidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 280-332 : 315

74 . Blyth’s Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus lepidus

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

Taxonomy. Rhinolophus lepidus Blyth, 1844 ,

“ probably in the vicinity of Calcutta ,” West Bengal, India.

Rhinolophus lepidus is included in the pusillus species group, and appears to be sister to a clade including R. comutus , R. pumilus, R.perditus , R. monticolus , R. shortridgei , R. pusillus , R. refulgens , and R. cf. lepidus from South-east Asia, which makes the species basal to much of the pusillus species group. As currendy defined, R. lepidus probably represents a species complex. The Central Asian specimens originally misidentified as R. hipposideros in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan were mentioned under the new name R. kirgisorum (or variously as R. aff. lepidus ) by I. Horaòcek and colleagues in 2000, and were thought probably to represent a new species. There was no description given to the name, so it is a nomen nudum. Subsequent comparison by P. Benda and J. Gaisler in 2015 indicated that the specimens from these regions are similar to specimens in Afghanistan, suggesting that they should be included within the race monticola . Race monticola may represent a species distinct from the South Asian and South-east Asian taxa, pending further genetic and morphological studies. Distributional limits between the subspecies are not well defined. The juvenile type specimen of monticola may have a mismatched skull, as the specimen’s external measurements are within the range of R.pusillus whereas the skull is typical of lepidus . Three subspecies are currently recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

. l. lepidus Blyth, 1844 - most of India and Bangladesh; possibly in Bhutan.

R..l. feae K. Andersen, 1907 — Myanmar, S China (Yunnan), N Thailand, SW Cambodia, and S Vietnam (possibly more widespread across Vietnam) including Con Son and Phu Quoc Is.

. l. monticola K Andersen, 1905 - SE Uzbekistan, SW Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan (Faryab, Kabul, Nangarhar, Parwan, and Zabul provinces), N Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces), NW India (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), and Nepal.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 33- 5—54 mm, tail 13- 3—26 mm, ear 11-20- 6 mm, hindfoot 5-5-10- 5 mm, forearm 37-42- 9 mm; weight 3-7-8- 2 g. Dorsal pelage varies between wood brown and cinnamon (hairs with drab bases with paler tip, giving fur glossy appearance), whereas ventral pelage is wood brown or drab. Ears are small or medium-sized. Noseleaf has strongly concave-sided lancet (may be almost parallel-sided in some individuals) and has either a rounded or pointed tip; connecting process is pointed triangle; sella is narrow and usually parallel-sided; horseshoe is relatively wide (6-8 mm) and does not cover the whole muzzle, has wide median emargination, and secondary leaflets are present. Lower lip has three mental grooves. Baculum is elongate, with dorsal bend near the basal cone and ventral bend near base, which is deeply bifurcated with depression on the ventral margin; tip is knobbed and wider in dorsal view, and shaft is cylindrical. Skull is small and robust (zygomatic width is usually subequal to, or sometimes slightiy larger than, mastoid width); anterior median swellings are small and subcircular; posterior swellings are relatively inflated; rostral profile is slightly sloped backwards or occasionally nearly straight; sagittal crest is moderately strong but weakened posteriorly; frontal depression is shallow to nearly straight; supraorbital ridges are low. C1 is well developed, usually greatly exceeding height of P4; P2 has distinct and generally well-developed cusp and is within tooth row; P3 is variably within or extruded from tooth row; P2 and P4 are in contact ifP3 is external. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 62 and FNa = 60 (southern India and Kyrgyzstan).

Habitat. Both dry and moist forest and fringe areas, as well as some desert regions in Central Asia. Recorded at elevations of 100-2338 m.

Food and Feeding. Blyth’s Horseshoe Bat appears to forage among vegetation and has been observed both aerial-hawking and gleaning prey off offoliage. It is a low, maneuverable flier. Known to feed on Lepidoptera, Coleoptera , Diptera , and Hymenoptera .

Breeding. Females give birth to a single young in early May, in Maharashtra.

Activity patterns. Blyth’s Horseshoe Bat roosts by day in caves, unused tunnels, old and ruined buildings, and old temples, and forages during the night. Search call shape is FM/CF/FM with a peak F recorded at 93-2-96-8 kHz and durations of 16-8-42-4 milliseconds in southern India. Peak frequency was reported as 104—105 kHz in another study in southern India and 103 kHz in South-east Asia.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Blyth’s Horseshoe Bat generally roosts in colonies ranging from a few individuals scattered within the roost or in compact clusters of a dozen or so, to several hundred individuals, some ofwhich may roost solitarily. Males and females roost together in mixed colonies. They reportedly urinate on intruders to deter them from disturbing their roosts.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN ed List. Blyth’s Horseshoe Bat is generally widespread and does not seem to have any major threats affecting it as a whole. However, in parts of its Indian range, it is threatened by roost disturbance due to conversion of old forts into hotels as part of tourist-related development activities.

Bibliography. Abramov eta/. (2007), Bates & Harrison (1997), Benda & Gaisler (2015), Benda, Hanak (2011), Bumrungsri, Francis & Csorba (2008), Csorba eta/. (2003), Das (1986a), Dejtaradol (2009), rancis (2008a), Horâcek eta/. (2000), Koublnova eta/. (2010), Kruskop (2013a), Raghuram eta /. (2014), Salim et al. (2017), Shahbaz et al. (2014), Sinha (1973), Smith &XieYan (2008), Soisook eta/. (2016).

Figures

On following pages: 52. Eastern Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus megaphyllus}; 53. Insular Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus keyensis}; 54. Yellow-faced Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus virgo}; 55. Madura Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus madurensis}; 56. Sulawesi Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus celebensis}; 57. Robinson's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus robinsoni); 58. Indochinese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus chasem); 59. Anamban Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus nereis}; 60. Bornean Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus borneensis); 61. Malayan Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus malayanus}; 62. Acuminate Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus acuminatus}; 63. Acuminate Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus acuminatus}; 64. Little Japanese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus cornutus}; 65. Yaeyama Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus perditus}; 66. Mountain Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus monticolus}; 67. Shortridge's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus shortridgei}; 68. Formosan Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus monoceros}; 69. Least Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus pusillus}; 70. Little Nepalese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus subbadius}; 71. Convex Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus convexus}; 72. Andaman Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus cognatus}; 73. Glossy Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus refulgens}; 74. Blyth's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus lepidus};

Subspecies and Distribution. . l. lepidus Blyth, 1844 - most of India and Bangladesh ; possibly in Bhutan . R..l. feae K. Andersen, 1907 — Myanmar , S China (Yunnan), N Thailand , SW Cambodia , and S Vietnam (possibly more widespread across Vietnam ) including Con Son and Phu Quoc Is. . l. monticola K Andersen, 1905 - SE Uzbekistan , SW Kyrgyzstan , Afghanistan (Faryab, Kabul, Nangarhar, Parwan, and Zabul provinces), N Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces), NW India (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), and Nepal .