140.

Necklace Sprite

Thainycteris torquatus

French: Farfadet de Taiwan / German: Halsband-Elfenfledermaus / Spanish: Tainicterio de Taiwan

Other common names: Formosan Yellow-throated Bat, Necklace Pipistrelle, Yellow-necked Sprite

Taxonomy. Arelulus torquatus Csorba & Lee Lingling, 1999,

Wu-ling Farm, 1,800 m, 24°24'N, 121°18’E, Taichung County, Taiwan.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Taiwan I.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 48-65 mm, tail 35-48 mm, forearm 41-50 mm; weight 12.5-19-5 g. The Necklace Sprite is very similar to the Collared Sprite ( 7: aureocollaris), but somewhat smaller. It is blackish above, tipped with bronze; underparts are dark, tipped with silvery gray; a well-defined ocherous collar runs from base of ears across throat, paralleled with a narrow grayish-white band spreading between shoulders. Ears are broadly triangular, blackish without any white or yellowish edge; tragus is short, curved, with anterior border concave and posterior border strongly convex. Muzzle is short, broad, and sparsely haired. Flight membranes are uniformly black and naked except furred proximal one-half of dorsal surface of uropatagium; plagiopatagium inserts at base offifth toe; calcar extends along more than one-half of uropatagial margin; last caudal vertebra is free from uropatagium. Skull is massive, with strong supraorbital and lacrimal processes; rostrum is broad; and braincase is inflated. Dentition, shape, and proportions of skull are generally the same as in the Collared Sprite, but differs in being smaller in all measurements (except palatal bridge length); narial margination is V-shaped; lacrimal width exceeds supraorbital width; palatal bridge is relatively longer. Condylo-canine lengths are 15-2-15-8 mm; maxillary tooth row lengths are 6:4—6-6 mm. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 50 and FN = 48.

Habitat. Collected from forests in the highlands of Taiwan at ¢. 1800 m.

Food and Feeding. Diet includes small insects, such as Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Diptera .

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Necklace Sprites are nocturnal. Echolocation studies suggest FM calls ending between 45 kHz and 40 kHz.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as Arielulus torquatus).

Bibliography. Cheng Hsichi et al. (2017), Chou Chenghan & Cheng Hsichi (2012), Csorba & Lee Lingling (1999), Gorfol et al. (2019), Guo Weijian et al. (2017), Hassanin et al. (2018), Lin Liangkong et al. (2002), Simmons (2005), Smith & Xie Yan (2008), Smith, Johnston &Csorba (2008).