104.

Peters’s Pipistrelle

Hypsugo petersi

French: Vespere de Peters / German: Peters-Zwergfledermaus / Spanish: Hypsugo de Peters

Other common names: North Wallacean Pipistrelle, Wallacean Chocolate Pipistrelle, Woolly Pipistrelle

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

Minahassa, northern Sulawesi, Indonesia.

See Hypsugo affinis . Monotypic.

Distribution. Philippines (Mountain and Benguet provinces on Luzon I, and Surigao del Norte and Davao del Sur provinces on Mindanao I), Borneo (Crocker Range in Sabah, and Kubah National Park in Sarawak), NE & C Sulawesi, and Moluccas (Buru and Ambon Is). A record from Mt Isarog (Camarines Sur Province on Luzon I) is assigned to the Pipustrellusjavanicus complex.

Descriptive notes. Head-body ¢.49-53 mm, tail 35-39 mm, ear 14-16 mm, hindfoot 8-9 mm, forearm 38-5—41-9 mm; weight 6-9 g. Dorsal fur of Peters’s Pipistrelle is somewhat woolly and long; upperparts are dark chocolate-brown with paler tips, giving frosted appearance; ventral fur is paler with brown tips; small amount of pale brown fur extends onto ventral surface of femur and adjacent to anus. Ears are blackish, broad, and rounded, taller than wide, with short, broad, blunt tragus. Muzzle is dark brown, and appears narrow and elongated compared to the Javan Pipistrelle ( Pipustrellus javanicus), with less pronounced swellings on side; nostrils are simple (not tubular). Wing membranes are blackish and naked, except small area of pale brown fur extending onto ventral surface of femur and adjacent to anus. Tail tip extends c.1-5 mm beyond tail membrane; calcar is well developed, with slight keel extending medially from hindfoot. Adult males have long, pendulous penis. Compared to Peters’s Pipistrelle, the Javan Pipistrelle has shorter ears, shorter, broader muzzle, and dorsal pelage lacks frosted appearance. Baculum of a specimen from Buru, Moluccas, is similar to that of the Chocolate Pipistrelle ( Hypsugo affinis) of India, broad and proximally widened with no distal expansion, and ventrally fluted. Skull is long and narrow, with slender zygomatic arches; occipital crests are well developed; sagittal and lambdoidal crests are present but low; forehead is almost flat. I? has prominent anterior and posterior cusps; C' is unicuspid with prominent lingual cingulum; P* is large and in contact with P* and lower incisors are strongly imbricated. Condylo-canine lengths are 13-6-14-7 mm, and maxillary tooth row lengths are 5-3-5-8 mm.

Habitat. In Borneo, Peters’s Pipistrelle is known from lower montane moss forest in Sabah. Most records are from high elevation (above 1000 m), but in Kubah National Park, Sarawak, it has been recorded in lowland forest. In the Philippines, specimens were caught in primary and heavily disturbed mossy forests and pine forests at high elevations (c.1200-2130 m). Nothing is known of habitat requirements in Sulawesi, Buru, and Ambon islands.

Food and Feeding. Diet is composed of small flying insects.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Peters’s Pipistrelle is nocturnal. In Borneo (Crocker Range) and the Philippines it was found roosting under the eaves of houses. Another specimen was captured on Mount Amuyao (LLuzon) in an area dominated by old-growth mossy forest. Peters’s Pipistrelles have been seen flying into wooden buildings.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List (as Falsistrellus petersi), as there are only a few scattered records over a wide area. It may be declining because of widespread habitat loss in the region, but precise habitat requirements are not known. The species occurs in Kubah National Park. Further studies are needed into its distribution, abundance, ecology, and threats.

Bibliography. Boitani et al. (2006), Corbet & Hill (1992), Francis & Hill (1986), Gorfol & Csorba (2018), Gorfal, Furey et al. (2019), Gorfol, Struebig et al. (2016), Heaney, Balete, Alviola et al. (2012), Heaney, Balete, Dolar et al. (1998), Heaney, Balete & Rickart (2016), Hill & Harrison (1987), Koopman (1994), Kumaran et al. (2011), Meyer (1899), Payne et al. (1985), Ruedi, Eger et al. (2017), Sedlock et al. (2008), Simmons (2005), Tate (1942b).