Rhinolophus ferrum-equinum Schreb.
Creators: name: Andersen, Knud
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 1905
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Rhinolophidae
Rhinolophus
Rhinolophus ferrum-Equinum

description: 14. Rhinolophus ferrum-equinum Schreb. (Plate IV. figs. 14, 15.) <i>Diagnosis.</i> Sella pandurate, p2 completely external or wanting. Ears more than 20 mm. Width of horse-shoe less than <b>0</b> mm. Forearm 52 <i>’</i> 8-63 mm.f <i>Details.</i> The <i>ferrum-equinum</i> type originated from a Bat in all * I am unacquainted with Dobson’s <i>Uh. andamanensis</i> (J. <b>A</b>. S. B. xli. <b>pt</b>. ii. (<b>1872</b>) p. 337). <b>The</b> only specimen known is in <b>the</b> Calcutta <b>Museum</b>. It seems to be a local representative of the affinis type. t <b>The</b> first and second characters, combined, are sufficient <b>to</b> distinguish <i>ferrumequinum</i> from all Oriental species of this group. <b>The</b> others <b>are</b> added <b>to</b> prevent confusion with those Ethiopian species of the present group <b>which</b> also <b>have</b> the sella pandurate and p- external or wanting <i>(</i> elivosus, <i>darlingi,</i> acrotis; <i>augur</i> and <i>deckenï).</i> essential points similar to <i>Rh. affinis.</i> It agrees with the now existing <i>affinis</i> in the pandurate sella and the prolongation of III.-. But it is <i>considerably</i> higher-developed, chiefly in the following respects: (1) the dentition; (2) the wing-structure; (3) the length of the tail; (4) the beginning, or complete, reduction of the lateral mental grooves; (5) the general size. The peculiar prolongation of the second phalanx of the third finger, described above under <i>Rh. affinis,</i> is preserved in <i>Rh.ferrumequinum</i>: III.2 is more than (or, extremely rarely, at least equal to) <b>4</b> the length of III.. <i>Also</i> IV.2 <i>is lengthened, i.e.</i> more than <b>4</b> of IV.1; it is an interesting fact that, in this particular point, <i>Rh.ferrum-equinum</i> (all races) agrees with <i>Rh. affinis himalayanus, but not with any of the other races of affinis.</i> Besides these two characters, which are simply inherited from an afmis-like ancestor, there is an important modification in another part of the wing, to which we have no parallel in any of the foregoing forms <i>®</i>, viz. <i>a change in the proportionate length of the third, fourth, and fifth metacarpals,</i> as shown in the subjoined table: — This table shows:—(1) In all the foregoing "21 forms or this group the fourth metacarpal is but very little longer than the third (24 mm., for a supposed length of forearm of 1000 mm.), and the fifth metacarpal is practically of the same length as the fourth t. (2) In <i>ferrum-equinum a considerable shortening of the third metacarpal has taken place</i>; at the same time a much smaller reduction of the fourth metacarpal has <i>occurred</i>, so as to make the fifth metacarpal, slightly but <i>decidedly,</i> the longest of all. <i>The tail is</i> proportionately <i>longer</i> than in the foregoing species, being, on an average, in the eastern races of <i>ferrum-equiwum (nippon, tragatus, regulus')</i> exactly lj, in the typical form 14, the length of the lower leg, whereas <i>proXimus,</i> in this point (as well as geographically), is intermediate between the eastern and western races J. In all the foregoing forms, without exception, there are three But there is an exact parallel in an Ethiopian species, of the affinis type, viz. <i>h. darlinqi</i> (see the “General Remarks,” below, p. 118). t It would only have made the table more complicated if I had given separate ciphers for all the foregoing species. The only difference (and an exceedingly small one) is that in simpleX, <i>megaphyllus,</i> truncatus, <i>nanus, celeb ensis, borneensis, virgo,</i> and <i>malayanus</i> the fourth metacarpal is, almost always, <b>a</b> mere trifle longer than the fifth; in <i>nereis, stheno, rouXi, thomasi,</i> and affinis a mere trifle <i>shorter</i> than the fifth. However small this difference is, it is evidently the first faint trace of the modification definitely carried out in <i>ferrum-eguinum</i>: the fourth metacarpal <i>al ways</i> shorter than the fifth. J It is hardly necessary to say that a short tail cannot be a primitive character in the order Chiroptera, taken as a whole. But, for some reason or other, we find in the most primitive species of the genus <i>Rhinolophus</i> a very short tail; in the higher forms of the presili# group we see, again, <b>a</b> lengthening of the tail. vertical grooves on the front of the lower lip. In the eastern races of <i>ferrum-equinum (nippon,</i> tragatus, <i>regulus)</i> sometimes exactly the same, but <i>very often</i> the lateral grooves are <i>more or less</i> reduced; in the western races <i>(</i> proXimus, <i>typicus,</i> obscurus <i>)</i> they have, as a rule, almost or quite disappeared *. As to the general size, the eastern races are, as it seems, always larger than any form of <i>affinis;</i> proXimus and <i>typicus</i> at least on an average so; while obscurus is nearly of the same size as <i>affinis himalayanus.</i> The remaining external characters need only a brief record:— The supplementary leaflet is <i>slightly</i> more reduced than in <i>affinis,</i> and more closely united to the upper lip; this latter iff is (more than the reduction) which makes it less distinctly visible. The posterior connecting process is more lengthened in anteroposterior direction, also a little more projecting, but quite rounded off at the summit. But, curiously enough, in one specimen (from Transcaspia) I find the process quite as in <i>affinis</i> (in all other specimens from W. Asia it is normal). The lancet has a marked tendency towards assuming a hastate shape, rather than a cuneate, the extreme tip being, generally, long and slender; but sometimes, and both in the eastern and western races (though more often in the former), individuals are found in which the lancet is almost cuneate, as in <i>affinis.—</i> These two individual variations are worth noticing, as, both of them, pointing back to <i>affinis.</i> The ears are somewhat modified: more attenuated below the tip, and more pointed. The plagiopatagium is inserted on the tarsus, on the base of the metatarsus, or about 1 mm. above the ankle-joint. But in one individual (from Cyprus) it is inserted no less than 6 mm. in front of the ankle-joint. It, again, recalls <i>Rh. affinis.</i> <i>Colour.</i> A small series of skins from Tessin, Switzerland, affords some information as to the <i>difference in colour dependent on the age of the individuals</i>; all the specimens are of the same sex, from the same locality, and the same month: <i>—</i> (1) <b>Two</b> full-grown, but <i>younger</i> individuals (females, December); distal epiphyses of metacarpals ossified, but teeth unworn; they are probably about six months old: <i>—</i> Uppei side * <i>According</i> to Blanford (<i>J</i>. <b>A</b>. S. B. lvii. pt. ii.no. 3 (1888) p. 263), _B7z. <i>tragatus</i> Hodgs., regarded by him as a distinct species, and corresponding to what is here called the eastern races qÏ <i>ferrum-equimvin,</i> has three mental grooves, one only. If this were so, I should have no objection to separating <i>Uli.</i> tragatus specifically from <i>ferrum-equinum.</i> But there is, in this as in other respects, a complete intergradation. <b>The</b> details are these:—(1) “ <i>JRh.</i> tragatus' <i>'</i> (10 spiritspecimens): in three individuals (Kashmir, Almora, Darjeeling) the three grooves are perfectly distinct; in three (Masuri, Nepal) the lateral grooves are less distinct than the central one; in two (Nepal) they are so far on the way towards obliteration that it requires close examination to discover them; in the two remaining (Shanghai) they <b>are</b> still more reduced. (2) <i>Ttli. fer</i> rum-equinum <i>(</i> s. <i>str.)</i>: rather often traces <b>of</b> the lateral grooves are easily observable; a number of individuals before me, from various places in Europe and W. Asia, have either a slight depression <b>or</b> a short linear groove <b>on</b> either side of the central one; in a specimen from Tübingen (one instance only, among several) they are at least not <i>more</i> obliterated than in two <i>“ tragatus</i> ” from Nepal and two <i>“ nippon</i> ” from Shanghai. greyish <i>“</i> drab, <i>”</i> lighter on the head and neck; base of hairs “ ecru7 drab <i>”</i>; a strongly marked, dark brown horse-shoe patch; under side almost “ ecru-drab <i>”</i> on throat and breast, very light “ drab <i>”</i> on belly. (2) One (female, December); teeth almost unworn; must be very nearly of the same age as (1) Intermediate in colour between (1) and (3), but nearer to (3). (3) Three <i>aged</i> individuals (females, December); teeth worn; two of them are at least 4 <i>years</i> old, the third (teeth very much worn) still older: <i>—</i> Upper side, a shade of brown which might be described as “ mars-brown <i>”</i> with a pronounced tinge of “ drab <i>”</i>; base of hairs light “ ecru-drab ”; scarcely any indication of a. horse-shoe patch; under side light “wood-brown <i>”</i> with a tinge of “ ecru-drab. <i>”</i> In a series from the Hautes-Pyrénées (January) I find the same differences in coloni1, but have not been able to verify the comparative age of the individuals by means of the skulls. Three skins from Minorca (spring) are like the aged Swiss individuals or, if anything, a trifle lighter. The teeth are worn, showing the animals to be, probably, at least about two <i>years</i> old. Skins of aged individuals from England are indistinguishable from Swiss specimens of a like age. A very young (not fullgrown) example from Somerset is quite like the younger (greyishdrab) individuals from Switzerland. As a general conclusion: young individuals are, broadly speaking, dark grey, old individuals brown; the coloni1 of the young animal is retained, at least in some individuals, till December, beyond the time when the epiphyses of the metacarpals have become ossified. For those who have an opportunity to watch these Bats in the ca ves during the winter, it would be an object of some interest to ascertain how the colour-change is effected, by a moult or by a recolouring of the hairs. <i>Skull.</i> The <i>essential</i> characters as in <i>Rh. affinis,</i> the <i>general shape</i> hardly different, but as a rule, of course, the skull is larger. The four anterior swellings are slightly more differentiated; the median ones almost circular in outline, the lateral ones oblong. Chief character: the much longer palatal bridge: very nearly | the length of the maxiliar tooth-row, a little more or less, but never so short as 1/4 the tooth-row (as in <i>affinis).</i> <i>Dentition.</i> p3 external and exceedingly small, or, <i>very often, lost.</i> also in younger individuals. p2 and p4 in contact, p2 <i>completely eXternal,</i> extremely small, <i>not rarely lost,</i> also in younger individuals. Upper canine and p4 not only in contact, but their <i>cingula,</i> as a rule, <i>considerably overlapping</i> each other (the <i>cingula</i> of p <b>4</b> being external to that of the canine). <i>Measurements.</i> On p. 115. <i>Distribution.</i> From S. China and Japan, through the Himalayas, the Mediterranean Subregion (exclusive of Egypt), and Central <b>Europe</b> to S. England. <i>Geographical races.</i> There are, at least, six forms of <i>Rh. ferrumequinum,</i> three eastern <i>(nippon, tragatus, regulus),</i> and three western <i>(</i> proXimus, the typical form, and <i>obscurus).</i> They are sufficiently differentiated to need technical names, but in no respect—in the external characters, in the skull, in the dentitionis there a <i>sharp</i> “hard-and-fast <i>”</i> line between them:— In the extreme east (S. China and Japan) we find a Bat <i>(nippon)</i> of moderate size and with rather small teeth; the dentition, too, has remained on a rather primitive stage of development; but the horse-shoe and nasal swellings are very broad. Some of these peculiarities, viz. the broad horse-shoe and nasal swellings, are preserved in the Central Himalayan <i>tragatus,</i> but the general size of the animal is increased, the skull and teeth very large, the dentition more highly developed. This latter character reaches a climax in the next form, <i>regidus,</i> from the N.W. Himalayas, but at the same time the horse-shoe and nasal swellings are markedly narrower; in this respect <i>regulus</i> evidently shows tendencies towards the western races, as also might be expected from its habitat. <i>—</i> The|e three Bats constitute what I call the “eastern” races of <i>ferrum-equinum.</i> The geographical line separating them from the western races must be drawn somewhere between Masuri and Gileit, at the border between the Oriental and Palaearctic Regions. East of that line the individuals are <i>generally</i> larger, with broader horse-shoe; the lateral mental grooves <i>not rarely</i> fully developed; the tail on an average only | the length of the lower leg. Passing from Masuri (still <i>regulus)</i> to Gilgit, on the extreme north-western, <i>“</i> Palaearctic <i>”</i> side of the Himalayas, we find a form <i>(</i> proXimus <i>)</i> with small and slender skull, narrower horseshoe and nasal-swellings; which give it a decidedly <i>“</i> western <i>”</i> aspect, and contrast it with its eastern neighbour, <i>regulus;</i> but it has retained the somewhat shorter1 tail characteristic of the eastern races. The typical form has got rid also of this reminiscence, but, as a matter of fact, also in this race now and then, though rarely, individuals occur which “fall back <i>”</i> to the shorter-tailed eastern stage. The typical form leads to the generally smaller, extreme south-western race <i>(obscurus</i>: Spain, Algeria). A closer study of these races, as compared with the Ethiopian <i>h. augur</i> and <i>Rh. deckeni,</i> will throw some light on the past history of the <i>ferrum-equinum</i> type (see the “General Remarks” on the <i>simpleX</i> group, below, p. 118).
description: Published as part of <i>Andersen, Knud, 1905, On some Bats of the Genus Rhinolophus, with Remarks on their Mutual Affinities, and Descriptions of Twenty-six new Forms., pp. 75-145 in Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 2</i> on pages 106-110, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3757451