Rhinolophus subbadius Blyth.

Andersen, Knud, 1905, On some Bats of the Genus Rhinolophus, with Remarks on their Mutual Affinities, and Descriptions of Twenty-six new Forms., Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 2, pp. 75-145 : 129-131

21. Rhinolophus subbadius Blyth.

Rhinolophus subbadius Blyth, J. A. S. B. xiii. pt. i. no. 150 (June 1844) p. 486.

Rhinolophus garoënsis Dobson , J. A. S. B. xli. pt. ii. no. 4 (Dec. 22, 1872) p. 337; id., Mon. Asiat. Chir. (1876) p. 48, textfigs. a-c; id., Cat. Chir. Brit. Mus. (1878) p. 115.

Diagnosis. Subbadius-type (cf. p. 123). The smallest species in the genus: forearm 34 ’ 2 mm.

Details. The very characteristic shape of the connecting process, formed as a long, sharply pointed, slightly curved 1 horn, ” prevents the confusion of this (and the next-following) species with any of the foregoing forms. Also the shape of the lancet is peculiar: short, broad, almost as an equilateral triangle; but 1 doubt that this character, in a large series, will prove to be quite as safe a guide for the discrimination of the species as the shape of the connecting process; there is, in all species of Rhinolophus , a little more individual variation in the lancet than in other parts of the nose-leaves. The sella is, essentially, of the minor-type (not as in gracilis ), much broader at base than at summit; below the constriction the margins are almost parallel, above the constriction slightly converging; the summit somewhat more subacute * than in any of the foregoing species; tip of sella bent forwards.

Plagiopatagium inserted a trifle above the ankle.

The colour (a little faded) is probably not very different from that of Rh. lepidus .

Skull. Unknown. I have seen a small fragment only; it seems to be of the minor-type.

Dentition (one example). p3 external. p2 and p4 in contact, p2 in row; cusp small, but distinct.

Measurements. On p. 132.

Distribution. Nepal (type locality). Garo Hills t. (The only example of this species in the British Museum is without exact indication of locality.)

Technical name. Hodgson’s “ Vespertilio subbadia ” (J. A. S. B. X. pt. ii. (Nov. 1841) p. 908), from the “Central Region of the Himalayas, ” is a nomen nudum (no word of description). The head of this Bat is figured in his unpublished drawings (pl. 8. fig. 3); it is not a Rhinolop> hus, but a Hipposiderus, probably H. bicolor or an allied form.

Blyth’s Rh. subbadius (1844) from Nepal, erroneously believed by himself to be the same as Hodgson’s V. subbadia, is a genuine Rhinolophus . The following analysis of the original description will make it evident that it is the species here under consideration: (1) The connecting process is stated to be “ conspicuously developed, and pointed ”; one of the chief characters of subbadius . (2) The lancet is but “ slightly emarginated towards the point ”; also one of its principal characters; for the salient point in the sentence is the word “ slightly, ” as proved by a comparison with the immediately subsequent description of lepidus , in which the lancet is called “ considerably emarginated towards the tip. ” (3) Forearm “ 11 inches ” (34'8 mm.); third finger “ 14- inches ” (47 ’ 6 mm.); these measurements, as being smaller than in any other species, and like those of the individual before me (forearm 34 ’ 2, third finger 46'4 mm.), settle the identification beyond all doubt.

Rh. garoënsis.— Dobson’s Rh. garoënsis (1872) is evidently the same species as Blyth’s Rh. subbadius * (to which there is no reference in Dobson’s ‘ Monograph ’ or ‘ Catalogue ’). The two authors emphasise the same points:—(1) The connecting process is described by Dobson as “ forming an acutely pointed elevation. ” (2) The lancet is a “broad, triangular, pointed process, ” or, as he says in his ‘ Monograph,’ “ almost an equilateral triangle ”; both of these features are the same as already pointed out by Blyth. (3) The Bat is said to be “ probably the smallest known species of the genus, ” the forearm measuring only 1'3 in. (33 mm.). (4) Width of horse-shoe 0 ’ 2 in. (5T mm.); a very narrow horse-shoe is also characteristic of the species (5'5 mm., as measured by myself). In the type of garoënsis p3 is, according to Dobson, in the toothrow; this is of no importance for the identification; the position of this tooth is “ vacillating ” in the whole lepidus section.