Vespertilionidae
Author
Don E. Wilson
Author
Russell A. Mittermeier
text
2019
2019-10-31
Lynx Edicions
Barcelona
Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats
716
981
book chapter
56755
10.5281/zenodo.6397752
45351c32-25dd-422c-bdb2-00e73deb4943
978-84-16728-19-0
6397752
467.
Thick-thumbed Myotis
Myotis rosseti
French:
Murin de Rosset
/
German:
Kambodscha-LangfuRfledermaus
/
Spanish:
Ratonero de Rosset
Taxonomy.
Glischropus rosseti Oey, 1951
,
Cambodia
.
Subgenus
Myotis
;
horsfieldii
species group.
See
M. ridleyi
. Based on neighbor-joining tree analysis in 2008,
Myotis rosseti
(partly as ndleyr) was related to
M. cf. browni
(as
muricola
) and some “long-footed”
Myotis
(e.g. hasseltir). Monotypic.
Distribution.
S & SE
Thailand
,
Cambodia
, S
Laos
, C & S
Vietnam
(
Ha Tinh Province
and Cat Tien Nadonal Park); in S
Vienam
, it might occur in nearby
Binh Phuoc Province
where “bamboo” habitat occurs.
Descriptive notes.
Head-body
36-47 mm
, tail
32-42 mm
, ear
11-14 mm
, hindfoot 5-1-7-
5 mm
, forearm 27-
5-31 mm
; weight 3-8-
6 g
. The Thick-thumbed
Myotis
has thick pinkish pads on thumbs and small triangular pads on feet. Fur is relatively short, light gray to dark grayish brown on upperparts, with hairs having dark brown bases and pale tips. Underparts are lighter. Ears are gray, long, and funnelshaped, with distinctive emargination on outer margins. Tragus (6-2-6-
8 mm
) is ¢.50% of ear length, thickened at base, and angled forward, tapering to tip. Muzzle and limbs are pinkish and not especially pigmented. Wing membrane is dark gray, and uropatagium is attached just below ankle. Calcar lobe is more or less developed. The Thick-thumbed
Myotis
differs from other species of
Myotis
by thickened pads on thumbs and feet and absence of P’ and P,. Ridley’s
Myotis
(
M. ridleyi
) and the Thick-thumbed
Myotis
can be readily recognized among other
Myotis
by their expanded, globose braincase, shortened, massive rostrum, and reduced premolar number.
Glischropus spp.
have shorter and broader ears, smaller and more rounded tragus, smaller and pinker thumb and foot pads, and distinctive upperincisors. Ridley’s
Myotis
is more blackish and lacks thumb pads. Characteristic thumb and foot pads of the Thick-thumbed
Myotis
also are found in one or more species of
Pipistrellus
,
Glischropus
,
Eudiscopus
,
Tylonycteris
, and
Hesperoptenus
. These distinctive morphological features also suggest Thick-thumbed
Myotis
are confined to bamboo associations. Baculum of a Thick-thumbed
Myotis
from southern
Vietnam
was moderately large (1-
1 mm
in length), relatively wide, and weakly converging forward, with wide rounded tip; border between main body and “wings” was not apparent, and thickened edges were absent; upper side was concaved and had large rounded protrusion in basal one-third hanging over wide and shallow basal notch; and urethral groove was wide and deep. Skull is similar to that of Ridley’s
Myotis
, but braincase is a little more swollen frontally; interorbital region is shorter; rostrum is slightly shorter and wider, median depression is shallower and less clearly defined; narial emargination is more nearly U-shaped rather than V-shaped as in Ridley’s
Myotis
, not extending as far posteriorly; basial depressions more pronounced. Dentition of the Thick-thumbed
Myotis
is reduced with only 34 teeth. P* and P, are lacking. I? is short and wide and has anterior and posterior cusp, the former cusp is prominent and twice the height of the latter. I is ¢.50% the size of I,. Canines have strong cingulum but no prominent cingulum cusps and are only slightly taller than posterior premolars. Condylo-canine lengths are 10-5-11-
3 mm
; maxillary tooth row lengths are 4-1-4-
5 mm
.
Habitat.
Densely forested mountain slopes, narrow valleys, and turbulent boulder strewn rivers (northern
Vietnam
), semi-open landscapes with large number of tall bamboo (southern
Vietnam
), disturbed habitats, and urban areas up to elevations of ¢.
500 m
. Recent captures suggest that the Thick-thumbed
Myotis
is confined to bamboo associations and particularly adapted to using bamboo stems. In
Thailand
,it roosted in tree hollows, house roofs, and bamboo.
Food and Feeding.
The Thick-thumbed
Myotis
is known to forage for insects over disturbed areas including fields.
Breeding.
In Cat Tien, male Thick-thumbed
Myotis
with enlarged testes were observed in April-May and a pregnant female in November. Females captured in
Vietnam
in November had conspicuous evidence of post-lactation, suggesting late summer or early autumn birth and thus polyestrous reproduction.
Activity patterns.
In Cat Loc (Cat Tien National Park), the Thick-thumbed
Myotis
foraged c.
1-2 m
aboveground among thickets and over cornfields in semi-disturbed and agricultural landscapes. An interesting community of bats adapted to living in bamboo stems, including poorly known species such as the Thick-thumbed
Myotis
, the Indochinese Thick-thumbed Bat (
Glischropus bucephalus
), and the mysterious Disk-footed Bat (
Eudiscopus denticulus
), occupy extensive bamboo-dominated formations in Cat Loc.
Movements, Home range and Social organization.
Heavy infestations of ectoparasites (nycteribiid flies) on Thick-thumbed
Myotis
suggest gregarious habits.
Status and Conservation.
Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Extent of occurrence of the Thick-thumbed
Myotis
is greater than
20,000 km
2, and recent evidence shows thatit has a wider distribution than was previously known. It has been reported in disturbed habitat and urban areas in some parts ofits distribution suggesting that it is tolerant of disturbance. Its populations are not believed to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.
Bibliography.
Amador et al. (2018), Bates et al. (1999), Borisenko & Ivanova (2003), Borisenko & Kruskop (2003), Borisenko, Kruskop & Ivanova (2008), Corbet & Hill (1992), Csorba, Bumrungsri & Bates (2008), Francis (2008a), Francis et al. (2010), Hill (1969a), Hill & Topal (1973), Kock (2000), Koopman (1994), Kruskop (2013a, 2013b), Lekagul & McNeely (1988), Oey (1951), Pearch & Writer (2009), Ruedi et al. (2013), Simmons (2005), Thomas et al. (2013), Thong Vu Dinh (2015).