(Alionoctula) Kruskop, Solovyeva & Kaznadzey, 2018, subgenus nov.
Creators: name: Kruskop, Sergei V.
name: Solovyeva, Evgeniya N.
name: Kaznadzey, Anna D.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy

description: Alionoctula subgenus nov.   
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 6866D047-8C2D-4440-9704- 1C652B14D91F  
 Type species: Vesperugo stenopterus Dobson, 1875   
 Distribution: South-East Asia: Malayan Peninsula (south of Kra), Riau Islands, Sumatra, northern Borneo and Mindanao Island (see: Corbet and Hill 1992; Kingston et al. 2008).   
 Content: Only type species.   
 Etymology: From Latin alio – another, and noctula – noctule bat (derived from nox – night); to reflect external similarity of P. stenopterus with the “true” noctules and the convergent nature of this similarity. The name has female gender.   
 Diagnosis: Middle-size vespertilionine bats with the forearm length about 40 mm and body weight about 15-20 g. Fur is short and thick, reddish-brown or brown, slightly paler on ventral part, does not spread to the wing membrane. Tail is shorter than body length. Calcar lobe is well-developed. Ears are widely rounded, tragi are short and wide, very slightly bent forward. Muzzle is wide and fleshy. Wing proportions are similar to that of Nyctalus, with an elongated third finger and a shortened fifth one.   
Skull is wide and robust, with rounded brain case and wide and short rostrum. Basisphaenoid pits are absent. Upper canine is long, with well-developed posterior blade and usually with indentation on it. Anterior upper premolar is well developed, but strongly displaced inward from the tooth row. Anterior upper incisor is bicuspidate and about twice as large as the posterior one in both height and crown area. Gap between incisors and canine base is very short. Upper molars are robust, rectangular, with visible hypocone and halfclosed basin. Lower molars are of nyctalodont type, posterior ones not reduced. Mandible is massive, with steep symphysis and almost vertical coronoid process.  
 Baculum is about 3.5 mm in length, much more massive than in other Pipistrellus, and gradually narrows from base to distal end. The latter is slightly widened and bifurcated, with tips turned downward. Base is with deep and narrow notch.   
 Comparison: Main differences of Alionoctula from other pipistrelles and noctules are stated in the “Results” section. In general, Alionoctula is similar to other Pipistrellus (especially from the “ javanicus ” species group) in some dental features, for example, in the proportions and position of the small premolar and shape of upper incisors and upper molars. Its differences include larger size, robust skull, wide and fleshy muzzle, and distinctly narrower wings. On lower molars, trigonids are somewhat compressed longitudinally, and therefore postcristid goes very close to the base of entoconide (as opposing to other Pipistrellus, where they are widely separated). Alionoctula is well separated from Nyctalus because of larger anterior premolars, thicker zygomatic arches, absence of basispheanoid pits, and more abrupt symphysis of mandible. From Philetor, Alionoctula could be distinguished by larger size and different shape and position of upper incisors. Thick baculum with downward curved bifurcation on distal end sets Alionoctula apart from all other members of the Pipistrellini tribe. Karyotype (N = 32, NF = 50; Volleth et al. 2001), while falling into the ranks of the Pipistrellus variability, is not seen in any other members of this genus.
description: Published as part of Kruskop, Sergei V., Solovyeva, Evgeniya N. & Kaznadzey, Anna D., 2018, Unusual Pipistrelle: Taxonomic Position of the Malayan Noctule (Pipistrellus stenopterus; Vespertilionidae; Chiroptera), pp. 1-15 in Zoological Studies 57 (60) on page 12, DOI: 10.6620/ZS.2018.57-60, http://zenodo.org/record/13316618