Current status of faunal diversity of Siju Cave, South Garo Hills, Meghalaya
Author
Kharkongor, Ilona Jacinta
Arunachal Pradesh Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Itanagar - 791111, Arunachal Pradesh, India; ilona. kharkongor @ ymail. com
Author
Saikia, Uttam
North Eastern Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Shillong - 793014, Meghalaya, India
Author
Khynriam, Dimos
North Eastern Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Shillong - 793014, Meghalaya, India
Author
Saikia, Bhaskar
North Eastern Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Shillong - 793014, Meghalaya, India
text
Records of the Zoological Survey of India
2023
123
3
283
303
journal article
10.26515/rzsi/v123/i3/2023/172670
2581-8686
13184378
6.
Myotis
cf.
montivagus
(Dobson, 1874)
[
Figure 8C
]
1874.
Vespertilio montivagus
Dobson,
J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal
, 43(2): 237.
Material examined
:
1 ♂
, cave entrance,
Siju cave
,
21.03.2018
,
U. Saikia
& party
V
/M/ERS/457
Remarks:
An adult male specimen was collected in a mist net from near the entrance of Siju Cave on the 21
st
of March
2018. This individual had a forearm length of
42.9mm
. It had a dark brown dorsum with a lighter venter which was quite discernible in flight. The individual dorsal hairs were dark throughout while ventral hairs were beige or copper brown at the tip and dark brown at the base. The wing membranes were dark brown and attached to the base of the toes. Ears were relatively short with a rounded tip and the tragus was less than half the length of the ear. The tragus was moderately curved and the posterior edge was mildly serrated.
The braincase of the
Meghalaya
specimen was distinctly domed with well-developed frontal depression. This is in contrast to the more flattened cranial profile of
My. annectans
which has similar external morphology and overlapping measurements with
My. federates
(
Görföl
et al
., 2013
)
.
The present specimen from Siju cave constitutes the first report of this species from
Meghalaya State
and only the second record from
India
.