Rhinolophus monticolus, Soisook et al., 2016

Burgin, Connor, 2019, Rhinolophidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 280-332 : 312

66 . Mountain Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus monticolus

French: Rhinolophe de montagne / German: Gebirgs-Hufeisennase / Spanish: Herradura montano

Taxonomy. Rhinolophus monticolus Soisook et aL, 2016 ,

“ Pu Nam Ron Stream, Mae Nam Pha Chi Wildlife Sanctuary , Ratchaburi Province, Thailand, 13°16’N, 99°20’ E, 800 m a.s.1.”

Rhinolophus monticolus is included in the pusillus species group. It appears to be closely related to R.shortridgei , and together they are embedded within R. pusillus , making that species paraphyletic. Despite the close similarity, the specific epithet monticolus is not a homonym of the older name monticola introduced by K. Andersen in 1905 and referring to a taxon treated as a race of R. lepidus', both names are nouns and are therefore invariable, monticola retains an “-a” as its suffix rather than “-us.” Monotypic.

Distribution. NW Laos (Luang Namtha) and N & W Thailand (type locality in Pu Nam Rom Stream and Phu Soun Sai and Mae Wong national parks); distribution is probably more extensive.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 42-3-48- 5 mm, tail 19-7-25- 6 mm, ear 15-5-19- 4 mm, hindfoot 7.4-8.3 mm, forearm 42-2-44- 1 mm; weight 6-9~8- 6 g. Dorsal pelage is dark brown (whitish basally, dark brown toward tips of each hair) whereas ventral pelage is little paler (mostly white hairs with brown tips). Ears are relatively long. Noseleaf has tall and slightly concave-sided lancet with bluntly pointed tip; sella is broad, nearly parallel-sided with slight convexity in middle, and with squared-off tip; connecting process is relatively long, projects anteriorly, and is sharply pointed; horseshoe is broad at 7-1-8- 6 mm wide but does not completely cover muzzle, and has shallow median emargination; lateral leaflets are present; noseleaf is brown, but specimens in Thailand had easily washed off unknown orange liquid covering their noseleaf, muzzle, and skin around eyes. Lower lip has three mental grooves. Baculum is elongate (3-6- 3-7 mm) and has cylindrical shaft with distinct dorsal bend at base and ventral bend at tip; dorsal margin of basal cone is shorter than ventral margin and basal cone has deep ventral notch. Skull is relatively large and elongate (zygomatic breadth exceeds mastoid width); anterior nasal swellings are relatively large and inflated; posterior nasal swellings are large and slightly inflated in lateral view; frontal depression is very shallow and supraorbital ridges are conspicuous but not well developed; sagittal crest is well developed, particularly near midpoint of braincase. C1 is relatively large (twice the size of P4); P2 is small and within tooth row, separating C1 from P4; P is small and either within tooth row or slightly extruded from it.

Habitat. Primary submontane to montane evergreen forests at elevations of 650-1320 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Lactating females were captured in mid-August in Thailand.

Activity patterns. Mountain Horseshoe Bats probably roost by day in tree hollows or rock crevices, as no caves are known from their habitat types. Call shape is FM/CF/FM structure with a peak F recorded at 83-6-87 kHz in males and 91-6-93 kHz in females.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN ed List due to its recent recognition as a species. The Mountain Horseshoe Bat is only currently known to occur at a few localities in Laos and Thailand, and very few specimens have been recorded, so it could be at risk of habitat loss.

Bibliography. Andersen (1905), Soisook et al. (2016).

Figures

On following pages: 52. Eastern Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus megaphyllus}; 53. Insular Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus keyensis}; 54. Yellow-faced Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus virgo}; 55. Madura Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus madurensis}; 56. Sulawesi Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus celebensis}; 57. Robinson's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus robinsoni); 58. Indochinese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus chasem); 59. Anamban Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus nereis}; 60. Bornean Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus borneensis); 61. Malayan Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus malayanus}; 62. Acuminate Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus acuminatus}; 63. Acuminate Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus acuminatus}; 64. Little Japanese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus cornutus}; 65. Yaeyama Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus perditus}; 66. Mountain Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus monticolus}; 67. Shortridge's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus shortridgei}; 68. Formosan Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus monoceros}; 69. Least Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus pusillus}; 70. Little Nepalese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus subbadius}; 71. Convex Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus convexus}; 72. Andaman Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus cognatus}; 73. Glossy Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus refulgens}; 74. Blyth's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus lepidus};

Distribution. NW Laos (Luang Namtha) and N & W Thailand (type locality in Pu Nam Rom Stream and Phu Soun Sai and Mae Wong national parks); distribution is probably more extensive.