SEAVR 2020: 029‐031
ISSN: 2424‐8525
Date of publication: 18 September 2020
Hosted online by ecologyasia.com

Range extension of the Large Asian Leaf‐nosed Bat(Hipposideros lekaguli) to Negros Island, Philippines
Lilibeth A. BUCOL & Gilbert A. BEJEC
lilibethabs2013@gmail.com (Bucol)

Observer: Gilbert A. Bejec.
Photographs by: Gilbert A. Bejec.
Subject identified by: Gilbert A. Bejec, Abner A. Bucol.
Location: Cayasu Cave (Lat 9.7393°, Long 122.92042°), Mabinay, Negros Oriental, Philippines.
Elevation: 130 metres ASL.
Habitat: Natural cave, with an entrance of 167 m2, a ceiling height of 1‐5m, and a length of 886m.
Date and time: 05 February and 05 March 2019, between 10:00 and 14:00 hrs.
Identity of subjects: Large Asian Leaf‐nosed Bat, Hipposideros lekaguli (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Hipposideridae)
Description of record: Four individuals were caught on 05 February 2019 and another two on 05 March 2019. Thebats were mist‐netted while doing a bat survey in Mabinay, Negros Oriental. All 6 bats were released after taking
morphometrics.

Fig. 1© Gilbert A. Bejec

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Fig. 2© Gilbert A. Bejec

Remarks: Hipposideros lekaguli is one of the most distinctive bats in the Philippines, with a large foliatednoseleaf, the posterior portion of which is distinctly trilobed and inflated into deep pockets (Fig. 1). There arethree leaflets lateral to the anterior noseleaf (Thonglongya & Hill, 1974; images in Heaney et al., 2010). The
median ridge is high and triangular (Fig. 2), and forearm length ranges from 66.5 to 72 mm (Balete et al., 1995).
The live specimens from Cayasu Cave had the following characters that distinguish this bat from other species:
total length 112‐120 mm; body length 66‐73 mm; tail 45‐47 mm; hind foot 11‐13 mm; ear 24‐29 mm; forearm 67‐69 mm; and weight 20‐28 g.
In Cayasu Cave, H. lekaguli was caught along with Hipposideros diadema, Miniopterus schreibersii, andRhinolophus arcuatus. On Negros Island, the other known congeneric species are H. diadema (forearm length: 77‐88 mm), H. obscurus (forearm length: 42‐48 mm), H. pygmaeus (forearm length: 37‐41 mm), and H. ater (forearmlength: 38‐43 mm) (Heaney et al. 2010).
According to Heaney et al. (2010), the species is distributed from Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia to Philippines. In
the Philippines, its known range includes Luzon (Quezon and Quirino provinces) and Mindoro islands. (They alsomentioned that this species may occur elsewhere in the country as there are some unconfirmed records in otherlocalities, but not specified where, and that additional surveys are needed).
This species as a whole is considered Near‐threatened by the IUCN due to tourism, religious disturbance to caves(presumably in Thailand), mining (limestone mining in Thailand), and other various anthropogenic activities(Csorba et al. 2019). In Cayasu Cave, we observed evidence of human disturbance including dumping of garbage,presence of graffiti on walls, washing activities, and construction of structures for potable water extraction.
Permits and funding: Our research on cave bats in Central Visayas was supported by a Wildlife Gratuitous Permit(GP No. 2019‐04) issued by the Department of Environment & Natural Resources (DENR) Region VII. We are gratefulfor funding received from Department of Science & Technology‐Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, andNatural Resources Research & Development (DOST‐PCAARRD).

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References:Balete, D.S., Heaney, L.R., and Crombie, R.I. (1995). First records of Hipposideros lekaguli Thonglongya & Hill 1974
from the Philippines. Asia Life Sciences 4(1): 89‐94.
Csorba, G., Bumrungsri, S., Francis, C., Bates, P., Gumal, M., Kingston, T. & Soisook, P. (2019). Hipposideros lekaguli.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T10144A22091565. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019‐
3.RLTS.T10144A22091565.en. Downloaded on 31 August 2020.
Heaney, L.R., Dollar, M.L., Balete, D.S., Esselstyn, J.A., Rickart, E.A., and Sedlock, J.L. (2010). A Synopsis of Philippine
mammals. Available at: http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/philippine_mammals/.
Thonglongya, K., and Hill, J.E. (1974). A new species of Hipposideros (Chiroptera) from Thailand. Mammalia 38(2):285‐294.

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