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

description: 74. Blyth’s Horseshoe <b>Bat</b> <i>Rhinolophus lepidus</i> French: Rhinolophe de Blyth / <b>German:</b> Blyth-Hufeisennase / <b>Spanish:</b> Herradura de Blyth Taxonomy. <i>Rhinolophus lepidus</i> <b>Blyth</b>, 1844, “ probably in the vicinity of Calcutta,” <i>West</i> Bengal, India. <i>Rhinolophus lepidus</i> is included in the <i>pusillus</i> species group, and appears to be sister to a clade including <i>R.</i> comutus, <i> R. <i>pumilus, R.perditus, R. monticolus, R. shortridgei,</i> <i>R. pusillus, R. refulgens,</i> and <i>R.</i> cf. <i>lepidus</i> from South-east Asia, which makes the species basal to much of the <i>pusillus</i> <i>species</i> group. As <i>currendy</i> defined, <i>R. lepidus</i> probably represents a species complex. The Central <i>Asian</i> specimens originally misidentified as <i>R. hipposideros</i> in Uzbekistan and <i>Kyrgyzstan</i> were mentioned under the new name <i>R. kirgisorum</i> (or variously as <i>R.</i> aff. <i>lepidus</i>) <i>by</i> I. <i>Horaòcek</i> and colleagues in 2000, and were thought probably to represent a <i>new</i> species. There was no description given to the name, so it is a nomen nudum. Subsequent comparison by P. Benda and J. Gaisler in 2015 indicated that the specimens from these regions are similar to specimens in Afghanistan, suggesting that they should be included within the race <i>monticola</i> <i>. Race monticola</i> may represent a <i>species</i> distinct from the South <i>Asian</i> and South-east <i>Asian</i> taxa, pending further genetic and morphological studies. Distributional limits between the subspecies are <i>not</i> well defined. The juvenile type specimen of <i>monticola</i> may have a mismatched skull, as the specimen’s external measurements are within the range of <i>R.pusillus</i> whereas the skull is typical of <i>lepidus.</i> Three subspecies are <i>currently</i> recognized.</i> <b>Subspecies and Distribution.</b> . <i>l. lepidus</i> Blyth, 1844 - most of India and Bangladesh; possibly in Bhutan. <i>R..l. feae</i> K. Andersen, 1907 — Myanmar, S China (Yunnan), N Thailand, SW Cambodia, and S Vietnam (possibly more widespread across Vietnam) including Con Son and Phu Quoc Is. . <i>l. monticola</i> <b>K</b> Andersen, 1905 - SE Uzbekistan, SW <i>Kyrgyzstan</i>, Afghanistan (Faryab, Kabul, Nangarhar, Parwan, and Zabul provinces), N Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab <i>provinces</i>), NW India (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), and Nepal. Descriptive <b>notes.</b> <i>Head—body</i> 33- 5—54 mm, tail 13- 3—26 mm, ear 11-20- 6 mm, hindfoot 5-5-10- 5 mm, forearm 37-42- 9 mm; <i>weight</i> 3-7-8- 2 g. Dorsal pelage varies between wood brown and cinnamon (hairs with drab bases with paler tip, giving fur glossy appearance), whereas ventral pelage is wood brown or drab. Ears are small or medium-sized. Noseleaf has strongly <i>concave-sided</i> lancet (may be almost parallel-sided in some individuals) and has either a rounded or pointed tip; connecting <i>process</i> is pointed triangle; sella is narrow and usually parallel-sided; horseshoe is <i>relatively</i> wide (6-8 mm) and does not cover the whole muzzle, has wide median emargination, and secondary leaflets are present. Lower lip has three mental grooves. Baculum is elongate, with dorsal bend near the basal cone and ventral bend near base, which is <i>deeply</i> bifurcated with depression on the ventral margin; tip is knobbed and wider in dorsal view, and shaft is cylindrical. Skull is small and robust (zygomatic width is <i>usually</i> subequal to, or sometimes <i>slightiy</i> larger than, mastoid width); anterior median swellings are small and subcircular; posterior swellings are <i>relatively</i> inflated; rostral profile is <i>slightly</i> sloped backwards or <i>occasionally</i> <i>nearly</i> straight; sagittal crest is moderately strong but weakened <i>posteriorly</i>; frontal depression is shallow to <i>nearly</i> straight; supraorbital ridges are low. C1 is well developed, usually greatly exceeding height of P4; P2 has distinct and generally well-developed cusp and is within tooth row; P3 is <i>variably</i> within or extruded from tooth row; P2 and P4 are in contact ifP3 is external. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 62 and FNa = 60 (southern India and <i>Kyrgyzstan</i>). Habitat. Both dry and moist forest and fringe areas, as well as some desert regions in Central Asia. Recorded at elevations of 100-2338 m. <b>Food and</b> Feeding. Blyth’s Horseshoe Bat appears to forage among vegetation and has been observed both aerial-hawking and gleaning prey off offoliage. It is a low, maneuverable flier. Known to feed on Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera. Breeding. Females <i>give</i> birth to a single young <b>in</b> early May, in Maharashtra. Activity patterns. Blyth’s Horseshoe Bat roosts by day in caves, unused tunnels, old and ruined buildings, and old temples, and forages during the night. Search call shape is FM/CF/FM with a peak F recorded at 93-2-96-8 kHz and durations of 16-8-42-4 milliseconds in southern India. Peak frequency was reported as 104—105 kHz in another study in southern India and 103 kHz in South-east Asia. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> Blyth’s Horseshoe Bat generally roosts in colonies ranging from a few individuals scattered within the roost or in compact clusters of a dozen or so, to several hundred individuals, some ofwhich may roost solitarily. Males and females roost together in mixed colonies. <i>They</i> reportedly urinate on intruders to deter them from disturbing their roosts. Status <b>and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on <i>The</i> IUCN <i>ed List.</i> Blyth’s Horseshoe Bat is generally widespread and does not seem to have any major threats affecting it as a whole. However, in parts of its Indian range, it is threatened by roost disturbance due to conversion of old forts into hotels as part of tourist-related development activities. <b>Bibliography.</b> Abramov eta/. (2007), Bates &amp; Harrison (1997), Benda &amp; Gaisler (2015), Benda, Hanak (2011), Bumrungsri, Francis &amp; Csorba (2008), Csorba eta/. (2003), Das (1986a), <i>Dejtaradol</i> (2009), <i>rancis</i> (2008a), <i>Horâcek</i> eta/. (2000), Koublnova eta/. (2010), Kruskop (2013a), Raghuram <i>eta</i> /. (2014), <i>Salim et</i> al. (2017), Shahbaz <i>et al.</i> (2014), Sinha (1973), Smith &amp;XieYan (2008), Soisook eta/. (2016).
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 315, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3748525