96.

Arabian Pipistrelle

Hypsugo arabicus

French: Vespéere d'Oman / German: Arabische Zwergfledermaus / Spanish: Hypsugo de Oman

Taxonomy. Pipistrellus arabicus D. L.. Harrison, 1979,

Wadi Sahtan (23°22'N, 57°18'E), Oman.

Based on genetic data, Hypsugo arabicus appears to be sister to H. savii, with H. ariel basal to this clade. Often placed in Pipistrellus, but genetic data unequivocally situate this species in Hypsugo . Monotypic.

Distribution. N Oman and SE Iran.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 37-48 mm, tail 37-44 mm, ear 10-5-13.5 mm, hindfoot 5-3-5-9 mm, forearm 28-9-34-3 mm. Pelage of the Arabian Pipistrelle is fairly long; dorsal pelage is very light clay-colored (hairs with dark bases that barely show through past light clay-brown tips); ventral pelage is practically white (hair tips are white, with darker base). Face and ears are blackish, and membranes are dusky brown and semi-translucent. Ears are relatively short, with convex inner margins, concave outer margins, and rounded tip; tragus is tall, with pointed tip that curves anteriorly and has weakly developed posterior basal lobule; there is low antitragus. Tail extends two vertebrae past uropatagium, and calcar is weakly developed, with very small but distinct Postcalcarial lobe. Penis is angulated and covered in hair on glans. Baculum is highly distinctive, with ventral groove reaching up to halfway up shaft, with slightly bifurcated base; base is wide in dorsal and lateral views and tip is trifurcated with knobs on each tip; shaft curves ventrally a little near tip and base in lateral view. Skull is small and delicate with longer rostrum than in the Fairy Pipistrelle ( Hypsugo ariel) “and Lanza’s Pipistrelle ( H. lanzai); supraorbital ridges are conspicuous; braincase is bulbous and smooth, lacking sagittal crest; lambdoidalcrests are weakly developed but more so than in the Fairy Pipistrelle. I? is bicuspid; C' and P* are usually separated by minute P?, which is intruded from tooth row; P; is small in crown area and height; and lower molars are myotodont.

Habitat. Desert and semi-desert habitats. Forages in open spaces, and above water.

Food and Feeding. Arabian Pipistrelles probably feed by aerial-hawking, as indicated by their diet. In Oman,ten fecal samples contained mostly Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Heteroptera, and Auchenorrhyncha. Twelve digestive tracts in Iran contained mostly small Coleoptera and Auchenorrhyncha, with significant amounts of Formicoidea and smaller amounts of small Lepidoptera, Diptera (Culicidae), Hemiptera (Aphididae), Heteroptera, Blattodea, and Neuroptera .

Breeding. In Iran, six pregnant females, all with two well-developed fetuses, were captured in early April. In Oman, pregnant females with two fetuses have been captured in early April, along with a lactating female. Births probably occur in early April.

Activity patterns. Arabian Pipistrelles are nocturnal. In Oman, search-call shape is a steep FM/QCF sweep with start frequencies of 36-1-48-5 kHz, end frequencies of 30-34-4 kHz, peak frequencies of 31:9-36-5 kHz, durations of 6-6—8-8 milliseconds, and interpulse intervals of 96-7-108-6 milliseconds.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List (as Pipistrellus arabicus). The Arabian Pipistrelle is currently known only from a few individuals from relatively few localities in Oman and Iran.

Bibliography. Benda, Al-Jumaily et al. (2011), Benda, Andreas & Reiter (2002), Benda, Faizolahi et al. (2012), Benda, Reiter et al. (2016), Harrison (1979, 1982), Harrison & Bates (1991), Tsytsulina (2008b).