334.

Litde Tube-nosed Bat

Murina aurata

French: Murine blonde / German: Kleine Réhrennase / Spanish: Ratonero narizudo dorado

Other common names: Tibetan Tube-nosed Bat

Taxonomy. Murina aurata Milne-Edwards, 1872,

Moupin, Szechwan, China.

Unl recently, included the newly described M. elery:, and typically also M. feae . Monotypic.

Distribution. C & E Nepal, NE India (Sikkim and Meghalaya), and WC & C China (Gansu, Xizang, Sichuan, Yunnan); possibly also Bhutan.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 33-45 mm, tail 27-31 mm, ear 15-18 mm, hindfoot 11-14 mm, forearm 277- 32 mm. Fur is thick and very silky; dorsally golden brown (hairs with grayish-black bases and golden tips); ventrally paler (hairs grayish black basally with off-white tips). Dorsal pelage extends sparsely onto wings, uropatagium, thumbs, and feet. Face is sparsely haired except long protuberant nostrils, which are naked. Ears are short and broad with smoothly convex anterior margins, notch on posterior margin, and a broadly rounded tip; tragus is long, narrow, and tapering toward pointed tip. Wing attaches to base offirst toe. Skull small and delicate, with very low rostrum. P? is much smaller than P*; crowns of C, are relatively low, about equal in height to P..

Habitat. Agricultural areas and small villages surrounded by steep mountain slopes covered in thick pine, oak, maple, walnut and bamboo forests; at elevations of 1154-4154 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Little Tube-nosed Bat probably roosts in foliage.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Widespread but poorly known; records in man-altered habitats suggest a degree of adaptability. Known distribution is somewhat fragmented but would probably be extended by further sampling.

Bibliography. Bates & Harrison (1997), Francis & Eger (2012), Francis, Bates, Bumrungsri et al. (2008), Furey, Thong Vu Dinh etal. (2009), Maeda (1980), Smith & Xie Yan (2008), Soisook (2013).