479.

Mandelli’s Myotis

Myotis sicarius

French: Murin du Sikkim / German: Mandelli-Wasserfledermaus / Spanish: Ratonero de Sikkim

Other common names: Mandelli's Mouse-eared Myotis, Sikkim Myotis

Taxonomy. Myotis sicarius Thomas, 1915,

India, “Northern Sikim [= Sikkim],” India .

Subgenus Myotis; daubentonii species group (7 species). See M. daubentonii . Monotypic.

Distribution. N India (Sikkim, West Bengal) and C Nepal (Annapurna Conservation Area, Kathmandu Valley, Kaski district, Lalitpur district).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 50-56 mm, tail 44-54 mm, ear 17- 2-19 mm, hindfoot 85- 11 mm, forearm 48-1-54- 6 mm; weight 9-611 g. Fur of Mandelli’s Myotis is dense, relatively short, and very soft. Dorsum is uniform chocolate-brown to dark ferruginous brown. Underparts are paler, with ginger hair tips and darker hair bases; belly is yellow-shaded. Forehead and muzzle are covered with hairs; ears, areas around eyes, and nostrils are essentially naked and dark. Ears are dark, with bluntly rounded tips. Anterior border of ear is evenly rounded and convex; posterior border has long shallow concavity beneath tip. Basal lobeis large and rounded. Tragus is tall and narrow, c.50% of pinna height. Feet are small but about equal to one-half the length of tibiae. Third metacarpal scarcely exceeds fourth and fifth. Wing membranes and uropatagium are naked, semi-translucent, and uniformly dark brown to black. Membranes are attached to base offirst phalanx of outer metatarsal. Narrow postcalcarial lobe is present. Baculum is small and saddle-shaped, with blunt rounded tip. Skull is relatively small, rostrum is long and robust, dorsal profile exhibits only slight post-nasal depression, and braincase is relatively shallow. Zygomata are short and widest posteriorly. Sagittal crest and lambdoid crests are weakly developed. Supraoccipital is nearly vertical and lambda just forms the most posterior part of the skull. Braincase is small and scarcely exceeds rostrum in surface area when viewed from above. P* and P, are relatively small. P, has crown area between one-quarter and one-third that of P, Condylo-canine lengths are 16-9-17- 7 mm; maxillary tooth row lengths are 7-1-7- 5 mm.

Habitat. Montane forests on hillsides and in valleys. Mandelli’s Myotis was collected over a river at Godvari in the Kathmandu Valley at ¢. 1350 m and over Bhurungdi River c. 3 m above waterin a partly forested area in Annapurna Himal (Nepal) at ¢. 1500 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Two female Mandelli’s Myotis captured in May in Annapurna Himal (Nepal) were heavily pregnant, each with full-term embryo in right uterine horn.

Activity patterns. Mandelli’s Myotis is nocturnal. Individuals caught in Nepal (Annapurna Himal) emitted relatively high-intensity FM echolocation calls compared with other species of Myotis .

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. Mandelli’s Myotis occurs in less than 2000 km?, with all known individuals at fewer than ten locations. Extent and quality ofits habitat continues to decline.

Bibliography. Acharya et al. (2010), Agrawal et al. (1992), Bates & Harrison (1997), Corbet & Hill (1992), Csor ba et al. (1999), Findley (1972), Koopman (1994), Molur & Srinivasulu (2008d), Molur et al. (2002), Nguyen Truong Son et al. (2013), Pearch (2011), Ruedi, Csorba et al. (2015), Ruedi, Stadelmann et al. (2013), Simmons (2005), Srinivasulu & Srinivasulu (2012), Stadelmann, Jacobs et al. (2004), Thapa, Shrestha et al. (2012), Thomas (1915e), Wroughton (1916).