Aselliscus tricuspidatus (Temminck, 1835)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Hipposideridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 227-258 : 234

20.

Temminck’s Trident Bat

Aselliscus tricuspidatus

French: Phyllorhine de Temminck / German: Temminck-Dreizackblattnase / Spanish: Aselisco deTemminck

Other common names: Temminck’s Asian Trident Bat, Trident Leaf-nosed Bat

Taxonomy. Rhinolophus tricuspidatus Temminck, 1835 ,

Amboina, Molucca Islands, Indonesia.

Four subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

A. t. tricuspidatus Temminck, 1835 — Moluccas.

A. t. koopmani Schütter, S. L. Wilhams & Hill, 1983 — Bismarck Archipelago, D’Entrecasteaux Is, Kiriwina I, Misima I, Woodlark I, and Solomon Is.

A. t. novaeguinae Schütter, S. L. Williams & Hill, 1983 -E New Guinea and Misool, Numfor, Supiori, Biak, and Yapen Is.

A. t. novehebridensis Sanborn & Nicholson, 1950 -Vanuatu (Espiritu Santo, Aore, and Malekula Is).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 36-49 mm, tail 16-9-27 mm, ear 10-3-15 mm, hindfoot 6-3-8-1 mm, forearm 36-5-44-7 mm; weight 4-6 g. As in its sister species Stoliczka’s Trident Bat (A. stoliczkanus ), Temminck’s Trident Bat has tridentate noseleaf margin in posterior leaf; intermediate point of trident is separated from lateral ones by large grooves. Forearm and tail are larger than in Stoliczka’s Trident Bat. Ears are short, pointed, and narrow. Tail is long and extended, surpassing uropatagium. Fur is brown or brown-orange with whitish base on dorsum, and brownish yellow in the ventral part.

Habitat. Lowland tropical forest. Temminck’s Trident Bat appears to be a lowland species, mainly occurring from sea level to 600 m, although it has been acoustically recorded at above 900 m in Papua New Guinea.

Food and Feeding. Temminck’s Trident Bat is thought to forage in tropical and subtropical forest. Its diet is based on insects.

Breeding. Females can give birth to one or two offspring each year.

Activity patterns. Temminck’s Trident Bat is known to roost in caves, tunnels, and other cavities. Echolocation call frequency is c. 115 kHz.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Temminck’s Trident Bats aggregate in small groups of 40-50 individuals, with individuals sometimes separated 30-40 cm from each other. They have also been observed roosting in colonies of several hundred.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCNRed List. Population of Temminck’s Trident Bat seems to be stable, and it is probably not greatly fragmented. There appear to be no major threats to this species, although habitat loss and disturbance of roosts by tourism might be increasingly affecting these animate1

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Bibliography. Aplin & Opiang (2009), Bonaccorso (1998), Bonaccorso, Leary & Hamilton (2008b), Leary & Pennay (2011), Li Gang eta/. (2007), Robson eta/. (2012).

Figures

1. Arabian Trident Leaf-nosed Bat (Asellia arabica), 2. Somalian Trident Leaf-nosed Bat (Asellia italosomalica), 3. Patrizi’s Trident Leaf-nosed Bat (Asellia patrizii), 4. Geoffroy’s Trident Leaf-nosed Bat (Asellia tridens), 5. Greater Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina camerunensis), 6. Telefomin Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina corynophyllus), 7. Cyclops Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina cyclops), 8. Hill’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina edwardshilli), 9. Fly River Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina muscinus), 10. Semon’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina semoni), 11. Northern Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina stenotis), 12. Wollaston’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina wollastoni), 13. Commerson’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Macronycteris commersonii), 14. Madagascar Cryptic Leaf-nosed Bat (Macronycteris cryptovalorona), 15. Giant Leaf-nosed Bat Macronycteris gigas rench: (Phyllorhine géante), 16. Sao Tome Leaf-nosed Bat Macronycteris thomensis rench: Phyllorhine de (Sao Tomé), 17. Striped Leaf-nosed Bat (Macronycteris vittatus), 18. Dong Bac Trident Bat (Aselliscus dongbacanus), 19. Stoliczka’s Trident Bat (Aselliscus stoliczkanus), 20. Temminck’s Trident Bat (Aselliscus tricuspidatus), 21. East Asian Tailless Leaf-nosed (Bat Coelopsfrithii), 22. Malayan Tailless Leaf-nosed Bat (Coelops robinsoni), 23. Solomons Leaf-nosed Bat (Anthops omatus)

Subspecies and Distribution. A. t. tricuspidatus Temminck, 1835 — Moluccas . A. t. koopmani Schütter, S. L. Wilhams & Hill, 1983 — Bismarck Archipelago , D’Entrecasteaux Is, Kiriwina I, Misima I, Woodlark I, and Solomon Is. A. t. novaeguinae Schütter, S. L. Williams & Hill, 1983 -E New Guinea and Misool, Numfor, Supiori, Biak, and Yapen Is. A. t. novehebridensis Sanborn & Nicholson, 1950 -Vanuatu (Espiritu Santo, Aore, and Malekula Is).