Rhinolophus macrotis Blyth 1844
Creators: name: Burgin, Connor
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Rhinolophidae
Rhinolophus
Rhinolophus macrotis

description: 42. <b>Big-eared</b> Horseshoe <b>Bat</b> <i>Rhinolophus macrotis</i> French: Rhinolophe a grandes oreilles / <b>German:</b> <i>Grosohr-Hufeisennase t</i> Spanish: Herradura de <i>orejas</i> grandes <b>Other common names:</b> Great-eared Horseshoe Bat Taxonomy. <i>Rhinolophus macrotis</i> <b>Blyth,</b> 1844, Nepal. <i>Rhinolophus macrotis</i> is in the <i>macrotis</i> species group along with <i> A osgoodi, R <i>episcopus, R siamensis, R schnitzleri, R rex,</i> and <i>R marshalli.</i> The <i>macrotis</i> group is included in the Asiatic clade of <i>Rhinolophus</i> and is sister to a clade including the <i> <i>philippinensis</i> and <i>megaphyllus</i> groups. <i>Rhinolophus</i> <i>macrotis</i> was considered to be paraphyletic with <i>R siamensis,</i> but following a recent in-depth phylogenetic study by Liu Tong and colleagues in 2019, taxa previously attributed to <i>R macrotis</i> and <i>"hinolophus</i> spi” are now assigned to the elevated A <i>episcopus</i> (including <i>caldwelli</i> as a subspecies) and <i>R osgoodi,</i> respectively. G. Csorba and P. J. J. Bates in 2016 described <i>topalius</i> as the replacement name for subspecies <i>topati.</i> The below four subspecies are still recognized as belonging to <i>R macrotis</i> sensu stricto pending further molecular biological <i>analyses</i>. However, in the light of the recent integrative studies of the <i>macrotis</i> complex, biogeographical considerations, and since they can be <i>readily</i> distinguished based on morphology, they almost definitely represent separate species.</i></i> Subspecies <b>and Distribution.</b> <i>R m.</i> <i>macrotis</i> <b>Blyth</b>, 1844 - N India (Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland), extreme N Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. <i>R m. dohmi</i> K. Andersen, 1907 - Malay Peninsula (including Tioman I) and N &amp; C Sumatra. <i>R m. hirsutusiL</i> Andersen, 1905 - Philippines (Luzon, Samar, Guimaras, Negros, Palawan, and Mindanao Is). <i>R m. topalius</i> Csorba &amp; Bates, 2016 - N Pakistan and possibly NW India. Descriptive <b>notes.</b> Head-body 42-51 mm, tail 12-33 mm, ear 18-29 mm, hindfoot 9-10 mm, forearm 40-50 mm; weight 4-4-9- 5 g. Subspecies are distinguishable <b>by</b> shape and relative size of different parts of nasal foliation and position and <b>development</b> of lower premolars. Dorsal pelage is generally light brown or pale brown (subspecies <i>topalius)</i>; venter is paler buff. <i>Only</i> subspecies hirsutus has an orange morph. Ears are <i>relatively</i> large. Lancet is long, with convex or more or less straight lateral margins and rounded or a little pointed tip; connecting process is high and rounded, being almost parallel to sella at lower part; sella is long and upward pointed, broad, rounded, <i>roughly</i> tongue-shaped, and covered in long, dense hair on front (sides are sometimes convex); and horseshoe is broad at 6-8— 10 mm, covers muzzle, has lateral leaflets that are partly or fully concealed by horseshoe, and has small but distinct median emargination. Lower lip has three medial grooves. Skull has elongated facial features; zygomatic width is less than or rarely subequal to mastoid width; anterior median swellings are well inflated and elongated; posterior median swellings are short and small; sagittal crest is weak across skull; frontal depression is shallow or of medium development; and supraorbital crests are conspicuous, often with sharp ridges. P2 is small <i>but</i> in tooth row, not allowing C1 and P4 to touch; placement of P3 varies between subspecies, with all subspecies except <i>topalius</i> having larger P3 that is <i>usually</i> in tooth row or <i>slighdy</i> displaced labially, and <i>topalius</i> has dny P3 that extrudes labially; and P2 and P4 either touch or are separated. Habitat. Generally subtropical or tropical moist forests, especially lowland tropical moist forests in Malay Peninsula, from sea level to elevations of <i>c</i>. 1692 m. Big-eared Horseshoe Bats have also been recorded in <i>secondary</i> forests. In the Philippines, they are found in primary and <i>secondary</i> lowland tropical moist forests from sea level to 620 m. <b>Food and</b> Feeding. The Big-eared Horseshoe Bat is insectivorous and flies rapidly and high to apparently catch small flies and beetles. It feeds on insects below the canopy in the Philippines. Breeding. <i>Pregnant</i> Big-eared Horseshoe Bats have been collected in February-March in Penang, Malaysia, and lactating females were captured in July in Nepal. Litter size is one. Activity <b>patterns.</b> <i>Big-eared</i> Horseshoe Bats are nocturnal. They roost in caves and abandoned mine shafts, particularly in limestone caves in Nepal and Myanmar. Call shape is FM/CF/FM, and mean F component has been recorded at 48 kHz in Malaysia, and 50 kHz and 55-1 kHz in the Philippines. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> <i>Big-eared</i> Horseshoe Bats are known to share roosts with other species of <i>Rhinolophus,</i> Hipposideros, <i>Myotis, Eptesicus,</i> and Miniopterus. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on <i>The IUCN ed List.</i> The Bigeared Horseshoe Bat does <i>not</i> seem to have any major threats throughout its distribution, but there is <i>very</i> little knowledge of its <i>ecology</i> and specific threats. It might be threatened locally by deforestation for timber and agricultural use or cave tourism. <b>Bibliography.</b> Bates &amp; Harrison (1997), Csorba &amp; Bates (1995, 2016a), Csorba et al. (2003), Esselstyn, Widmann &amp; Heaney (2004), Francis (2008a), Heaney, Baiete, Dolar <i>et al.</i> (1998), Heaney, Balete &amp; Rickart (2016), Li <i>Yuanyuan</i> et al. (2014), LiuTong <i>et</i> al. (2019), Molur, Srinivasulu &amp; <i>rancis</i> (2008), <i>Sedlock</i> (2001), Sediock, <i>Ingle</i> &amp; Balete (2011), <i>Sedlock</i>, Jose et al. (2014), Shi Limin et al. (2009), Smith &amp; <i>XieYan</i> (2008), Sun Keping et <i>al.</i> (2008), Tu Vuong Tan, Hassanin et <i>al.</i> (2017), <i>WuYi</i> eta/. (2008), Zhang Lin <i>et</i> al. (2018).
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 300-301, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3748525