423.

Orange-fingered Myotis

Myotis rufopictus

French: Murin a doigts roux / German: OrangefingerMausohr / Spanish: Ratonero de dedos narajnas

Other common names: Red-painted Myotis

Taxonomy. Vespertilio rufo-pictus Waterhouse, 1845,

“ Philippines.”

Subgenus Chrysopteron. See M. formosus, from which it was split based on cranial, dental, and external morphology. Evidence suggests there may be another closely related species in the Philippines, as yet undescribed, which in coloration and size is close to M. weberi . Monotypic.

Distribution. Philippines, occurring on Luzon (Camarines Sur, Isabela, Nueva Viscaya, and Rizal provinces), Mindoro, Sibuyan, Negros, and Palawan (including Cuyo Is).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 63- 4 mm (type), tail 43-59 mm, ear 19-22 mm, hindfoot 12-14 mm, forearm 47-58 mm; weight 9- 5-17 g. The Orange-fingered Myotis is one of the most strikingly colored bats of Asia. It has fairly long pelage; upperparts usually bright yellow-orange, with pale gray roots; ventrally paler, yellowish white, scarcely tinted with gray at roots. Wing membranes are black, except wing bones, which are orange or orange brown, and a large bright red basal area roughly behind a line from thumb to heel; small strip of membrane above arm is red, clouded with black; limbs and interfemoral membrane are also red; naked part of muzzle and ears are pale flesh-colored; wing membranes attached to side of foot, at base oftoes. Ears are long; tragus long and slender, coming to blunt point. Nostrils simple (not tubular); muzzle not swollen. Skull profile is rather flat with no frontal depression;sagittal and lambdoid crests are only moderately developed, whereas skull is globose posteriorly. Canines are moderately strong; upper molars relatively robust with developed talons; P, very small and intruded lingually half-way out of line of tooth row. Condylo-canine length 16- 1 mm; maxillary tooth row 7-2-7- 5 mm.

Habitat. Primary lowland and montane forest, sometimes over limestone; also secondgrowth forest and fields near forest. Elevational range 50-1450 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. [Location of roosts unknown, but the species has not been found in caves.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Probably threatened by deforestation in lowlands. It occurs in several protected areas.

Bibliography. Allen (1922), Boitani et al. (2006), Corbet & Hill (1992), Csorba, Chou Cheng-Han et al. (2014), Csorba, Rosell-Ambal et al. (2016), Esselstyn, Widmann & Heaney (2004), Heaney, Balete, Dolar et al. (1998), Heaney, Balete & Rickart (2016), Ingle & Heaney (1992), Koopman (1993, 1994), MBCFI (2018), Mudar & Allen (1986), Sedlock, Ingle & Balete (2011), Sedlock, Weyandt et al. (2008), Simmons (2005), Tate (1941d), Water house (1845).