Hipposideridae
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
227
258
book chapter
http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3739808
b7e93c79-44a6-4d9c-8b78-dcb62033fb0d
978-84-16728-19-0
3739808
27.
Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat
Hipposideros armiger
French:
Phyllorhine de I'Himalaya I
German:
Grosse Himalaya-Rundblattnase
/
Spanish:
Hiposidérido de Himalaya
Other common names:
Great Leaf-nosed Bat
,
Great Roundleaf Bat
Taxonomy.
Rhinolphus [sic] armiger Hodgson, 1835
,
“Nipal [=
Nepal
].”
Hipposideros armiger
is in the
armiger
species group. Four subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
H. a. armiger Hodgson, 1835
-N
India
,
Nepal
,
Myanmar
, C & S
China
(including
Hainan
I), and mainland SE Asia except
Vietnam
.
H. a. fujianensis Zhen, 1987
-SE
China
(
Fujian
).
H. a. terasensis Kishida, 1924
—
Taiwan
I.
On following pages: 28. Griffin's Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros
griffin/}; 29. Pendlebury's Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros grandis
}; 32. Horsfield's Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros larvatus
}; 33. Maduran Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros madurae
sumbae
}; 36. Shield-faced Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros lylei
}; 37. Pratt's Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros pratti
}; 38. 40. Diadem Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros diadema
}; 41. Fierce Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros dinops
}; 42. Crested Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros lankadiva
}; 45. Large Asian Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros lekaguli
}; 46. Peleng Leaf-nosed
pendleburyi
); 30. Lesser Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros turpis
}; 31. Grand Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros
}; 34. Sorensen's Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros
sorensenl); 35. Sumban Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros
Shield-nosed Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros scutinares
}; 39.
Makira
Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros demissus
}; Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros inexpectatus
}; 43. Arnhem Leaf-nosed Bat (
Hipposideros inornatus
}; 44. Indian Bat (
Hipposideros pelingensis
}.
H. a. traninhensis Bourret, 1942
—
Vietnam
.
Descriptive notes.
Head—body
80— 110 mm
, tail 48-70 mm, ear 30-35 mm, hindfoot 13-17 mm, forearm
85—103 mm
; weight 44-67 g. Males are usually larger than females. Ears of the Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat are large and have a pointed tip. Hair is long and soft, and dark brown. Tail is long, with tip free from interfemoral membrane. Noseleaf is rather small and does not cover muzzle. There are four supplementary leaflets, outer one being very small. Intermediate leaf is thick and swollen. Posterior leaf is thick but narrower than anterior leaf. Adult males have a thick, swollen structure behind posterior leaf. Skull is large with well-developed sagittal crest. Rostrum and supraorbital region are gready inflated. C1 and j are heavily built. P2 is small and extruded from tooth row, so that C1 and P4 are in contact. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 32 and FN = 60.
Habitat.
The Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat forages in primary and disturbed forests, seeking its food in the forest itself or in other vegetation near caves. It is also recorded in orchards and rubber plantations.
Food and Feeding.
The Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat feeds on insects, mostly o leoptera and Hymenoptera, in forest understory and around trees. It sometimes flies high and fast in open spaces, perhaps while commuting to and from foraging sites.
Breeding.
Females were found pregnant from January to early May. Young Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bats were seen attached to females in the roost from February to June.
Activity patterns.
The Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat often roosts in large numbers in caves. Its echolocation calls are typical F components terminating with a FM tail, with the frequency of the F part of 65—75 kHz.
Movements, Home range and Social organization.
The Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat forms small to very large colonies in caves. Each individual usually has a roosting space of c. 10-20 cm from other individuals. It is often found in mixed colonies with other large
Hipposideros species
, such as Diadem Leaf-nosed Bats (
H. diadema
), Large Asian Leaf-nosed Bats (
H. lekaguli
), or Shield-feced Leaf-nosed Bats (
H. lylei
).
Status and Conservation.
Classified as Least Concern on The IUCNRed List. The Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat is widespread and rather common in cave habitats. It has been recorded from several protected areas throughout its range.
Bibliography.
Bates, Bumrungsri, Francis & Csorba (2008), Corbet & Hill (1992), Francis (2008a), Hughes eta/. (2010), Lekagul & McNeely (1988), Simmons (2005).