42.

Minahassa Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus minahassae

French: Pipistrelle de Minahasa / German: Minahassa-Zwergfledermaus / Spanish: Pipistrela de Minahasa

Taxonomy. Vesperugo minahassae A. B. Meyer, 1899,

“Tomohon, Minahassa, Nord Celébes [= north Sulawesi],” Indonesia.

Taxonomic affinities of P. minahassae are uncertain, but it was placed close to P. ceylonicus based on morphology by J. E. Hill and D. L. Harrison in 1987. Additional research is needed. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only confidently from holotype in NE part of N Peninsula of Sulawesi; there are apparently records from Tolai and Rurukan, N Sulawesi, and two other specimens from Tobelo, N Sulawesi, which are all located near type locality, but all of these specimens need to be reexamined to determine whether or not they truly represent this species.

Descriptive notes. Head-body ¢. 59 mm, tail ¢. 37 mm, ear 14 mm, hindfoot 10 mm, forearm 36 mm (type specimen). Pelage of the Minahassa Pipistrelle is short, shiny, and velvety. Dorsum is dark brown; venter is paler brown. One-third of upper arm and one-half of thigh are covered in hair dorsally and ventrally; fur stretches a little further ventrally. Ears apparently are relatively small, and tragus has rounded tip. Wing membranes are blackish and virtually naked throughout except right near body; uropatagium extends from calcar to nearlytail tip, only extreme tip is free. Skull characteristics are based on specimens from Rurukan, near type locality and described by G. H. H. Tate in 1942, which still needs to be identified confidently as the Minahassa Pipistrelle after skull of holotype has been examined. Skull has distinctive short high braincase, with rudimentary sagittal crest; zygomatic arches are slender; basal pits are deep; supraorbital tubercles are prominent; I? is long and bicuspid; P? is subequal to size of P*; and P* is comparatively well developed and slightly displaced from tooth row.

Habitat. No information.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. The Minahassa Pipistrelle is currently known only from the type specimen and a few specimens that have provisionally been attributed to it. Virtually nothing is known aboutits ecology and threats; additional research is needed.

Bibliography. Hill & Harrison (1987), Gorfol, Francis, Kingston & Hutson (2016), Meyer (1899), Tate (1942b).