Rhinolophus episcopus G. M. Allen 1923
Creators: name: Burgin, Connor
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Rhinolophidae
Rhinolophus
Rhinolophus episcopus

description: 44. Allen’s Horseshoe Bat <i>Rhinolophus episcopus</i> French: <i>Rhinolophe</i> episcopal / <b>German:</b> Allen-Hufeisennase <b>/ Spanish:</b> Herradura <i>de</i> Allen Taxonomy. <i>Rhinolophus episcopus</i> G. M. Allen, 1923, “ Wanhsien, Szechwan Province, China.” <i>Rhinolophus episcopus</i> is generally considered to be a subspecies of <i>R macrotis',</i> however, following recent genetic studies, the taxon has been validated at the species level, including <i>caldwelli</i> as a subspecies. <i>R episcopus</i> appears to be sister to <i> R <i>siamensis</i> with <i>R osgoodi</i> being sister to this clade. Within <i>R episcopus,</i> there are three clades that represent three distinct subspecies. Beside the nominal subspecies, the name <i>caldwelli</i> is available for one of them, but there is a third undescribed subspecies as well. Two subspecies recognized.</i> Subspecies <b>and Distribution.</b> <i>R e.</i> <i>episcopus</i> G. M. Allen, 1923 — C &amp; SE China (Shaanxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Guangdong). <i>R e. caldwelli</i> G. M. Allen, 1923 - SE China (Fujian). There is also an undescribed subspecies from S China (<i>Yunnan</i>) and NE Vietnam. Descriptive <b>notes.</b> <i>Head—body</i> 36-38 mm, tail 16—26 mm, ear 18- 5—28 mm, hindfoot 6-10- 5 mm, forearm 45-52 mm (subspecies <i>episcopus),</i> 43-45 mm (subspecies <i>caldwelli),</i> 40-46 (undescribed subspecies); weight 5-9- 5 g. Dorsal pelage is generally light brown; venter is paler buff. There is no known orange morph. Ears are large. Lancet is long, with convex or more or less straight lateral margins and rounded or a little pointed tip (width of tip differs between subspecies); connecting process is high and rounded, being almost parallel to sella at lower part; sella is long and upward pointed, broad, rounded, roughly 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. Baculum has small, slightly dorso-ventrally compressed basal cone; dorsal and ventral emarginations on proximal margins are slight and wide; ventral depression extends on shaft as ventral flat surface to one-half the length; shaft is thicker in middle; slight dorsal bend occurs near basal cone; and tip is narrowly rounded off, <i>laterally</i> widened, and has longish dorsal knob. Skull has elongated facial features; zygomatic width <i>is</i> less than 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 <i>development</i>; and supraorbital crests are conspicuous, often with sharp ridges. P2 is small but in tooth <i>row</i>, not allowing C1 and P4 to touch; P3 is within tooth row or slightly displaced <i>labially</i>; P2 and P4 are separated. <b>Habitat.</b> Caves and mines surrounded by primary forest, secondary growth, or agricultural fields. In north-eastern Vietnam, Alien’s Horseshoe Bats have been caught at elevations of 650-1950 <b>m</b>. <b>Food and</b> Feeding. In Yunnan, 96 fecal samples included primarily lepidopteran prey along with Hymenoptera and less frequently Goleoptera. Breeding. No information. <b>Activity</b> patterns. Allen’s Horseshoe Bats are nocturnal. Call shape is FM <b>/</b> CF <b>/</b> FM and F component has been recorded at 45-1-52-7 kHz (subspecies <i>episcopus),</i> 61 <b>-</b> 7 <b>-</b> 62-8 kHz (subspecies <i>caldwelli),</i> and 50-8—58-4 kHz (undescribed subspecies). <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> No information. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Not assessed on <i>IUCNed List.</i> Allen’s Horseshoe <b>Bat</b> was <i>only recently</i> recognized as distinct from A <i>macrotis</i> and further studies into its ecology and threats are needed. <b> <i>Bibliography</i>.</b> Csorba et <i>al.</i> (2003), Kruskop (2013a), <i>LiuTong eta</i> /. (2019), Zhang <i>Libiao</i>, Jones <i>et</i> al. (2009), Zhang Lin et <i>al.</i> (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 page 301, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3748525