163.

Harlequin Bat

Scotomanes ornatus

French: Sérotine ornée / German: Harlekin-Fledermaus / Spanish: Scotomano arlequin

Taxonomy. Nycticejus ornatus Blyth, 1851,

“Chérra Punji [= Cherrapunji],” East Khasi Hills district, Meghalaya, India.

Scotomanes is sister to la within Eptesicini.

Form imbrensis is tentatively considered a synonym of ornatus until more refined studies validate its distinctiveness. Form emarginatus (known only from the holotype) has been recognized as a distinct species but is generally considered a synonym of S. ornatus, which is followed here.

‘Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

S.o.ornatusBlyth,1851—ENepal,NEIndia(Sikkim,WestBengal,Assam,Meghalaya,ArunachalPradesh,Nagaland,andManipur),andNBangladesh.

S. o. sinensis Thomas, 1921 — N & E Myanmar, N Thailand, Laos, N & C Vietnam, and China (Sichuan and Yunnan E to Anhui and Fujian, including Hainan I).

Descriptive notes. Head—body 64-85 mm, tail 50-66 mm, ear 19-23 mm, hindfoot 12-15 mm, forearm 50-64 mm; weight 20-30 g. The Harlequin Bat is large and spectacularly colored. Subspecies sinensis is smaller and darker than ornatus . Fur is dense and rather tangled. Dorsal pelage is orange to orangish brown or sometimes nearly reddish brown, with white patches on top of head, shoulders, and sides and white line down middle of back; white shoulder, head, and midline spotting is variable, and some individuals have asymmetrical spotting or spots behind ears. Ventral pelage is a complex pattern of black, orange or orangish brown (or grayish yellow in some individuals), and white, with mixed black and orangish brown vague T-shape making collar and median line of variable thickness, rest being predominately white with border of black and orangish brown hairs where membranes meet body, although there are white, black, and orangish brown hairs mixed in throughout; ventral pattern is variable, more or less white, black, or orangish brown. Ears are large, with evenly convex anterior borders, broadly rounded tips, and brown and naked on both sides; tragus is one-third to onehalf the length of ear and is broad crescent-shaped, with bluntly pointed tip. Muzzle is short and stubby looking, with inflated nasal glands and simple outturned nostrils, and face is virtually naked and brownish pink. Wing membranes and uropatagium are dark brown, contrasting orangish brown digits, forearms, and humerus. Uropatagium connects to calcar and runs to end of tail. Baculum is very small (c. 1 mm long) and subtriangular, with broad bifurcated base and bluntly pointed tip. Skull is robust and broad, with very short rostrum; lacrimal process and supraorbital ridges are prominent; zygomatic arches are strong; palatal sinus is very small; braincase is low; sagittal and lambdoidalcrests are well developed; I is relatively large, unicuspid, and separate from C'; C' lacks secondary cusp and has well-developed cingulum; there is only one upper premolar that touches C'; M? is greatly reduced and essentially lacks metacone; and P, 1s two-thirds the size of P. Dental formulaisl1/3,.C1/1,P1/2,M 3/3 (x2) = 30.

Habitat. Deep, humid valleys and hilly forests (India) and areas with secondary growth (Vietnam) from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 2200 m.

Food and Feeding. The Harlequin Batis insectivorous. Feces from Vietnam contained fragments of thick chitin, sometimes of bright green color, suggesting presence of middle-sized Anomala beetles ( Coleoptera) in diets.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Harlequin Bats reportedly roost by day on tree branches and banana leaves, which might explain their cryptic color pattern providing camouflage in foliage. They emerge late and are maneuverable aerial foragers, flying fast and high when foraging, making a twittering sound. Typical flight pattern is slow and heavy in open areas or near trees or rocky walls, usually not lower than 10 m aboveground. Calls are steep to shallow FM sweeps of ¢.80-25 kHz, with peak frequency of ¢.30 kHz. Calls in Vietnam had start frequencies of 43-62 kHz, end frequencies of 18-6-23-1 kHz, peak frequencies of 29-7-35-9 kHz, and durations of 2:2—4-4 milliseconds.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Harlequin Bat probably roosts alone or in small groups.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Abramov et al. (2010), Allen (1938b), Bates & Harrison (1997), Csorba, Bates, Molur & Srinivasulu (2008a), Das et al. (1995), Francis (2008a), Kruskop (2013a), Lekagul & McNeely (1977), Liu Hao et al. (2011), Lunde et al. (2007), Nguyen Truong Son etal. (2016), Simmons (2005), Sinha & Chakraborty (1971), Smith & Xie Yan (2008), Thabah etal. (2007).