Hipposideros arpiocephalus subsp. harpia, (Temminck), 1840

Voon-Ching Lim, Rosli Ramli, Subha Bhassu & John-James Wilson, 2017, A checklist of the bats of Peninsular Malaysia and progress towards a DNA barcode reference library, PLoS ONE 12 (7), pp. 1-65 : 43

Harpiocephalus harpia [Temminck, 1840]

Vespertilio harpia Temminck, 1840: 219 , pls. 55; Southeast side of Mountain Gede, Java, INDONESIA (Collector unknown; Type unknown) [ 82].

Harpiocephalus harpia [ 191].

Common English name: Hairy-winged Bat

Barcode Index Number: DNA barcodes recorded as H. harpia are associated with BIN, BOLD:AAB5424, but there are no DNA barcodes from Peninsular Malaysia.

Remarks: H. mordax was once considered a subspecies of H. harpia [ 138] but was later recognised as a distinct species having “a more robust skull and larger teeth” compared to H. harpia [ 173]. Two male and three female specimens from Java recorded as H. harpia were later re-examined, and the degree of dimorphism observed among the specimens was small when compared to the differences observed in rostral and tooth size between H. harpia and H. mordax [ 9]. Matveev [ 192] noted that all specimens of H. mordax used in earlier studies are females and a molecular analysis of a male “ harpia ” and a female “ mordax ” from Cambodia indicated that the specimens were conspecific, consequently eliminating the occurrence of H. mordax in Cambodia. Two female specimens from Peninsular Malaysia (field ID.: CMF930806.7 and CMF930807.2) were identified as “ H. mordax ” based on their broader skull and large teeth by Francis [ 71]. Francis later stated that H. harpia is the only species that occurs in Southeast Asia with sexual dimorphism in size [ 14]. Following the current consensus, all records of H. mordax from Peninsular Malaysia should be updated to H. harpia .

IUCN status: Least Concern

Recorded at: Pahang: Fraser Hill Forest Reserve [ 56] .

Previously recorded as H. mordax at: Pahang: Krau Wildlife Reserve [ 11], National Park [ 193]; Perak: Temengor Forest Reserve [ 46, 47, 71].

The roosting ecology of H. harpia remains unknown due to its rarity but the species has been recorded in forests with hilly terrains [ 11].