160.

Large False Serotine

Hesperoptenus tomesi

French: Sérotine de Tomes / German: GroRer Scheinbreitfligel / Spanish: Hesperopteno de Tomes

Other common names: Tomes's False Serotine

Taxonomy. Hesperoptenus tomesi Thomas, 1905,

“ Malacca,” Malaysia.

Subgenus Milithronycteris . Phylogenetically, H. tomesiis related to Glauconycteris orsister to Arielulus and Glauconycteris . Monotypic.

Distribution. Peninsular Malaysia and N Borneo (Sabah); recently recorded from S Thailand (Kaeng Krachan National Park in Phetchaburi Province) and from W Borneo (Bukit Sarang and Mt Penrisen in Sarawak).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 74 mm (type specimen), tail 49-53 mm, ear 17-18 mm, forearm 50-53 mm; weight 30-32 g. The Large False Serotine closely resembles Tickell’s False Serotine ( H. tickelli) apart from its color (yellowish brown in latter). Upperparts are rich dark chocolate-brown; underparts are similar. It has large rounded head and sloping forehead, with fur smoothly curved from forehead to tip of nose. In general, it is larger than other Hesperoptenus species and has bigger teeth, particularly I*. Ears are short and rounded, with hatchet-shaped tragus, angled horizontally forward and bluntly pointed.

Wing membranes are dark brown. Baculum is long, with slender, cylindrical shaft, lacking any upward deflection; tip is slightly thickened vertically; upper surface of shaft is flattened proximally; and base is widened to form paired basal flanges separated by a deep V-shaped aperture. There are prominent supraorbital ridges. Well-developed sagittal and lambdoid crests create posteriorly projecting lambda. Teeth are large with well-developed cusps. I is large and conical. Lower incisors are more robust than those of Tickell’s False Serotine. I? is displaced inward so that I* and C' are in contact. Condylo-canine lengths are 19-8-20-3 mm, and maxillary tooth row lengths are 7-7-8-5 mm.

Habitat. [.owland primary forests (Peninsular Malaysia) and lowland dipterocarp forests (Sabah). In Thailand, one Large False Serotine was collected on the ridge of a hill at an elevation of 1200 m in pristine hill evergreen forest.

Food and Feeding. Relatively large size and teeth of the Large False Serotine suggest it is carnivorous. It probably feeds on frogs along streams, and insects are no doubt eaten.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Large False Serotine appears to be forest-dependent, and it is suspected that its population has declined by more than 30% in the last 15 years, inferred from deforestation rates, and this level of decline will continue for the next 15 years. Habitat loss due to logging, plantations, agriculture, and forestfires is a major threat. It occurs in Sapagaya Forest Reserve and Tabin Widlife Reserve in Borneo, Taman Negara and Krau Wildlife Reserve in Peninsular Malaysia, and Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand.

Bibliography. Amadoret al. (2018), Boitani et al. (2006), Bumrungsri et al. (2006), Corbet & Hill (1992), Francis (2008a), Heller & Volleth (1989), Hill (1976), Hill & Francis (1984), Hill & Harrison (1987), Hutson, Kingston, Francis & Csorba (2008), Khan et al. (2008), Koubinové et al. (2013), Lim et al. (2017), Medway (1983), Payne et al. (1985), Phillipps & Phillipps (2016), Simmons (2005), Thomas (1905c).