Hipposideros larvatus (Horsfield, 1823)

Suyanto, Agustinus & Struebig, Matthew J., 2007, Bats of the Sangkulirang limestone karst formations, East Kalimantan - a priority region for Bornean bat conservation, Acta Chiropterologica 9 (1), pp. 67-95 : 82-83

Hipposideros larvatus (Horsfield, 1823)

Horsfield’s roundleaf bat

New material

3♂♂ ( MZB M26779 / 26780 / 26781 ); 4♀♀ ( MZB M26803 / 26809 / 26813 / 26850 ). Records from Borneo

Sarawak: Kuching ( Payne et al., 2000); Bau limestone formations (Mohd-Azlan et al., 2005). WestKal: Betung Kerihun NP (Hariuchi, 1999); Gunung Kenepai ( Payne et al., 2000); Gunung Niut NR ( Colijn, 2005); Gunung Palung NP (MZB). South- Kal: Sungai Pangalahan, Sungai Pasir ( Payne et al., 2000). EastKal: International Tropical Timber logging concession, Liang Lusan cave ( Yasuma, 1994); Sungai Lesan PF (M. J. Struebig, unpublished data).

Comments

This species was a dominant roundleaf bat captured at Baai, Marang and Tintang formations. The species is known to roost in large colonies in limestone caves ( Payne et al., 2000), and during this study was record- ed in Gua Dep at the Baai formation. According to the SAMD, in Borneo H. lar- vatus is distributed from the northwest to southeast, and despite substantial surveys in karst areas, it has not been recorded from Sabah. Our records extend the known distri- bution in Borneo eastwards. However, the taxonomy of H. larvatus is uncertain, and there have been calls for a systematic re- evaluation as there is clearly much variation across the species range. Kitchener and Maryanto (1993) suggested elevating H. l. grandis in Thailand and Vietnam to species status given its larger forearm size and dis- tinct skull, penis and baculum morphology. Thabah et al. (2006) also proposed a cryptic species among H. larvatus captured in northeast India, distinguished by larger forearm size, genetic divergence and echo- location peak frequency. H. larvatus in Sangkulirang exhibits a substantial size range (FA: 59.4–66.6 mm) and so may, giv- en these discoveries elsewhere, contain more than one species. Like Thabah et al. (2006) we advocate a reassessment of this species complex using morphological, echolocation and phylogenetic techniques. MEGADERMATIDAE