A recent bat survey reveals Bukit Barisan Selatan Landscape as a chiropteran diversity hotspot in Sumatra
Author
Huang, Joe Chun-Chia
Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA & Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit, Lubbock, TX, USA
Author
Jazdzyk, Elly Lestari
Department of Biology, College of Mathematics and Natural Science, University of Lampung, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia
Author
Nusalawo, Meyner
Wildlife Conservation Society-Indonesian Program, Bogor, Indonesia
Author
Maryanto, Ibnu
Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit, Lubbock, TX, USA & Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, Bogor, Indonesia
Author
Maharadatunkamsi
Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, Bogor, Indonesia
Author
Wiantoro, Sigit
Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit, Lubbock, TX, USA & Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, Bogor, Indonesia
Author
Kingston, Tigga
Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA & Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit, Lubbock, TX, USA & Corresponding author: E-mail: tigga. kingston @ ttu. edu
tigga.kingston@ttu.edu
text
Acta Chiropterologica
2014
2014-12-01
16
2
413
449
journal article
21483
10.3161/150811014X687369
9322a9db-0fb9-4136-a366-3bde45d1220e
1733-5329
3943617
Miniopterus australis
Tomes, 1858
Little long-fingered bat
New record
Lampung Province
: Way Canguk Forest.
New material
One bat was collected as a voucher specimen.
Lampung Province
: Way Canguk Forest,
1♂
(
MZB
35816).
Previous records from
Sumatra
Only listed for northern
Sumatra
(
Boitani
et al.
, 2006
), but no locality records given.
Remarks
The records of
Miniopterus
species for
Sumatra
are not consistent among previous studies.
van Strien (1996)
and
Suyanto
et al.
(1998
,
2002
) listed three species for the island:
M. fuliginosus
(as
M. schreibersii
in the studies, but see
Tian
et al.
, 2004
),
M. magnater
, and
M. pusillus
. However, the records of
M. pusillus
(also see
Whitten
et al.
, 2000
) were not included in subsequent reviews (
Corbet and Hill 1992
;
Simmons, 2005
;
Boitani
et al.
, 2006
;
IUCN, 2013
). An additional species,
M. australis
, is listed for
Sumatra
by a few recent studies (
Boitani
et al.
, 2006
;
IUCN, 2013
). Due to similarities in appearance, the classification of
Miniopterus
remains uncertain, which makes species identification in the field difficult (
Francis, 2008
). In this study, we recognize three morphologically distinct species in our samples, and assign names to three of the four known species (see species accounts below). Further studies of craniodental measurements and genetic relationships are necessary to confirm our identifications.
Miniopterus australis
is the smallest of the three recognized species from our study area. Comparing with known
Miniopterus
species in the Sunda shelf, the forearm length, body mass, and tibia length of the bat overlapped largely with
M. australis
from other localities, but were smaller than all other
Miniopterus
species (
Table 4
). Individuals were characterized by orange-yellow and flesh-colored skin of the face and tragus, which was not observed in the other two
Miniopterus
species in our study. Similar coloration is seen in
M. medius
from Peninsular
Malaysia
but not in
M. australis
from Borneo (J. Senawi, personal communication). However, coloration is seldom used as a diagnostic trait to identify cave-roosting insectivorous bats in Southeast Asia because variations in color among individuals and geographic populations are commonly found in many species. Although this color pattern is stable in our samples, in the present study, we assign this species as
M. australis
solely based upon the body size. Individuals were recorded from caves in Way Canguk Forest and were found using the same roosts as
Miniopterus magnater
,
M. pusillus
,
Rhinolophus lepidus
/
pusillus
,
Hipposideros cervinus
, and
Myotis horsfieldii
. In the study area,
M. australis
can be easily distinguished from other known
Miniopterus
species by the skin color and the smaller size (
Table 2
). Our record is the first record of this species in BBSL and extends the distribution in Sumatra from the north to the south.