Rhinolophus nippon Temminck 1835
Creators: name: Burgin, Connor
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Rhinolophidae
Rhinolophus
Rhinolophus nippon

description: 33. <i>GreaterJapanese</i> Horseshoe <b>Bat</b> <i>Rhinolophus nippon</i> <b>French:</b> Rhinolophe <i>nippon</i> / <b>German:</b> <i>Grosse</i> Japan-Hufeisennase / <b>Spanish:</b> Herradura de <i>Japón</i> <b>Other</b> <i> common <b>names</b></i> : <i>Japanese</i> Greater Horseshoe Bat Taxonomy. <i>Rhinolophus nippon</i> Temminck, 1835, Japan. <i>Rhinolophus nippon</i> is in the Jèmmeçwtnutn species group and sister to a clade including A <i>clivosus</i> and <i> R ferrumequinum. <i>Rhinolophus nippon</i> m previously included in <i>R ferrumequinum,</i> but genetic data have shown that the two are distinct species. Distributional limits between <i>R nippon</i> and <i>R ferrumequinum</i> are still uncertain because there have been no genetic assessments of specimens from central and southern Asia. Which species <i>tragatus</i> is best included under has <i>yet</i> to be determined, but <i>it</i> is included as a subspecies here. Taxon <i>korai</i> is here synonymized under nominate nippon, although genetic and morphometric testing is needed to support this <i>view</i>. Two subspecies recognized.</i> <b>Subspecies and Distribution.</b> <i>R n.</i> <i>nippon</i> Temminck, 1835 — <i>C</i> &amp; E China (from <b>Jilin</b> SW to Sichuan and S to N Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, and <i>Fujian</i>), Korean Peninsula, andJapan (including some offshore islands). <i>R n. tragatus</i> Hodgson, 1835 — N India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, <i>West</i> Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland), Nepal, Bhutan, N Bangladesh, and SW China (Yunnan and Guizhou). Descriptive <b>notes.</b> Head—body 55—79 mm, tail 25-44 mm, ear 18—29 mm, hindfoot 10—14 mm, forearm 49—64 mm. The GreaterJapanese Horseshoe <b>Bat</b> is similar to the Greater Horseshoe Bat (A <i>ferrumequinum</i> <i>),</i> but it seems to have somewhat darker pelage. Nominate subspecies has forearm lengths of 49—59 mm and tibia lengths of less than 25 mm; <i>tragatus</i> has forearm lengths of 58—64 mm and tibia lengths of more than 25 mm, being significantly larger than <i>nippon</i> with little overlap. Dorsal pelage is smoky gray-brown, pale brown, or chestnut-brown, with variable levels of red tinge (some individuals apparently look dark orange-brown); venter is pale buff. There are possibly orange-morph individuals in Japan. Males lack axillary tufts. Ears are relatively short (<i>c</i>.46% of forearm length on average). Noseleaf has subtriangular lancet, becoming slightly concave near bluntly pointed tip; connecting process is rounded and much higher than <i>sella</i> tip; sella is naked, <i>relatively</i> small, and curved forward, making front surface strongly concave while sides are only slightly concave and tip is pointed; and horseshoe is narrow, does not cover muzzle, and has lateral leaflets (although sometimes inconspicuous) and deep median emargination. Lower lip has one or three grooves, although lateral grooves can be inconspicuous if present. <i>Wings</i> and uropatagium are grayish brown. Detailed morphological comparisons between the GreaterJapanese Horseshoe Bat and the Greater Horseshoe Bat are required to differentiate the two species based on skull <i>differences</i>. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 58 and FN = 62. <b>Habitat.</b> <i>Variety</i> of temperate forested habitats in montane and lowland regions from sea level to elevations of <i>c</i>. 3500 m. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> Greater Japanese Horseshoe Bats forage by fly-catching from a perch (most often), slow hawking, and gleaning prey from the ground and vegetation. They forage in open forests, woodland paths, and forest edges, generally preferring open areas to cluttered areas. <i>They</i> generally prey on species of Diptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Trichoptera, Plecoptera, Odonata, and Hemiptera, but Lepidoptera, o ­ leoptera, and Diptera make up the largest proportion of diets. During winter hibernation, they are known to awake and feed almost <i>exclusively</i> on troglophilic moths in hibernacula and occasionally outside when <i>it</i> is warm enough. Breeding. GreaterJapanese Horseshoe Bats are <i>seasonally</i> monoestrous, with delayed fertilization. Copulation occurs in late summer and early autumn before hibernation, and sperm is stored in females’ reproductive tracts. Births of single young occur synchronously in early summer. Mothers recognize their young by vocal communication, and their supersonic calls are synchronized. <i>Young stay</i> attached to their mothers’ underside and suckle. They begin to forage by themselves at <i>c</i>.32 days old, and weaning occurs at 40 days old. Juvenile mortality has been reported at 3-6%. Female Greater Japanese Horseshoe Bats generally take 2 <b>-</b> 4 years before rearing their first offspring, with fertility increasing with each year of life: one year <b>(</b> 13 <b>-1%</b> fertility <b>),</b> two years <b>(</b> 49 <b>*</b> 5 <b>%),</b> three years <b>(</b> 95 <b>-</b> 2 <b>%),</b> and four years <b>(</b> 100 <b>%)</b> in Ishikawa Prefecture and one (0-0%), two (27-2%), and three (93-4%) in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Females less than a year old generally do not produce any offspring, <i>but</i> it is possible. Females possess a strong loyalty to their natal sites for giving birth and raising their young. GreaterJapanese Horseshoe Bats are very long-lived; the oldest individual recorded was a 23-yearold female fromJapan. <b>Activity patterns.</b> GreaterJapanese Horseshoe Bats are nocturnal and forage throughout the night. During the day, they can enter torpor, and during winter, they hibernate in more temperate parts of their distribution. <i>They</i> might not hibernate in southern parts of the distribution (e.g. India). Most roosts are in caves and roofs of abandoned or unused buildings. Call shape is <b>FM</b> /CF/FM, with F component of 65-69-8 kHz throughoutJapan. In China, resting frequencies (<b>RF</b>) <i>vary</i> considerably (c.68—76 kHz) and are correlated with geographical location and mean annual temperature (higher temperatures are correlated with larger <b>RF</b> values). <b>Movements, Home range and Social</b> organization. Greater Japanese Horseshoe Bats roost alone, in small groups, or in large colonies. Colonies can have hundreds of individuals. During mating season, females form <i>tightly</i> knit maternity colonies that average 85 individuals on central Honshu and 132 individuals (range 10-200) in western Honshu. Non-breeding and male individuals also can be found in these colonies, albeit in low numbers because they generally create their own roosts separate from <i>maternity</i> colonies. One maternity roost in Ishikawa Prefecture had 75-2% adult females, 24-2% subadult females, and 0-6% males. During hibernation, Greater Japanese Horseshoe Bats form mixed roosts with dense clusters of individuals. <i>Weights</i> increase 25-8-28-2% in late autumn before hibernation on <i>Kyushu</i>, Japan. Individuals will travel <i>fairly</i> long distances between summer roosts and hibernacula; distances of up to 130 km have been reported on <i>Kyushu</i>. Home ranges of adult females in summer averaged 1-5 ha in one study. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Not assessed on <i>TAe IUCN ed</i> List. The Greater Japanese Horseshoe Bat was previously included in <i>R ferrumequinum,</i> which is classified as Least Concern. It has a wide distribution and is considered common throughout much of its distribution. It is probably not threatened overall but might be locally threatened by habitat destruction from logging and agricultural expansion and roost disturbance from cave tourism and human cohabitation in building roosts. <b>Bibliography.</b> Benda &amp;Vallo (2012), Funakoshi &amp; Maeda (2003), <i>Koh</i> Hung-Sun eta/. (2014), Matsumura (1979, 1981), Matsuta <i>eta</i> /. (2013), <i>Mori</i> eta/. (1982), OhYung-Keun eta/. (1983, 1985), Ohdachi eta/. (2009), Sano (2000a, 2000b), Smith &amp; XieYan (2008), Stoffberg eta/. (2010), Sun <i>Keping</i> eta/. (2013),Taniguchi (1985).
description: Published as part of <i>Burgin, Connor, 2019, Rhinolophidae, pp. 280-332 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on pages 297-298, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3748525