158.

Tickell’s False Serotine

Hesperoptenus tickelli

French: Sérotine de Tickell / German: Tickell-Scheinbreitfligel / Spanish: Hesperopteno de Tickell

Other common names: Tickell's Bat

Taxonomy. Nycticejus tickelli Blyth, 1851,

India. Restricted byJ. Anderson in 1881 to Chaibasa, Jharkhand, India.

Subgenus M ilithronycteris (four species).

See G. doriae . T. Gorfol and colleagues in 2019 found that H. tickelli clustered with Eudiscopus denticulus, a species associated with Submyotodon and Myotis in subfamily Myotinae . Additional studies are needed to determine correct taxonomic placement of H. tickelli . Monotypic.

Distribution. Widespread in S & SE Asia, in India (including Andaman Is), Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietham, and Cambodia; it might occur in SW China. It is probably more widespread than is currently known.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 61-79 mm, tail 44-63 mm, ear 16-18 mm, hindfoot 9-14 mm, forearm 49-60 mm; weight 15-21 g. Tickell’s False Serotine is most similar in external appearance to Eptesicus and Scotophilus . Pelage is moderately short and dense. Dorsum varies from light grayish yellow to bright golden brown, sometimes with rather rufous tinge to tips of hairs; hair bases are dark gray. Muzzle is broad and blunt, swollen at sides, and naked anteriorly. Forehead is broad and thickly haired. It has no pads on thumbs or feet; calcar has poorly developed lobe. Ears are yellowish brown, moderately large, thick, and fleshy. Anterior border is convex, and tip is broadly rounded. Tragus is about one-half the length of pinna and crescent-shaped, with rather blunt tip; antitragus is well developed and partly concealed by short fur. Wings are moderately broad and rather long (wingspan 374-416 mm). Forearms, metacarpals, and legs are naked and flesh-colored; membranes between them are black; and uropatagium is light reddish brown, darkening to almost black toward outer margin. Dark wings are marked with white, and there are very small friction pads on thumbs. Specimens from Sri Lanka and Andaman Islands are darker than those from the Indian mainland and are more reddish brown dorsally, especially posteriorly. They also average a little smaller than those from the mainland. Baculum has simple shaft that is deflected downward anteriorly, tip is not thickened, and base is expanded and bilobed. Skull is robust, with broad rostrum, and its breadth equals that of braincase; and postorbital region is sharply constricted toward postorbital constriction. Braincase is relatively narrow, with well-developed posterior sagittal crest and lambdoid crests. Narial emargination is V-shaped but with rounded apex. Palate is broad, and its postpalatal extension is short. Basisphenoid pits are deep and clearly defined. Zygomata are slender. Mandible is robust, with well-developed coronoid processes. I* is massive, canine-like, and unicuspid, with distinct cingulum. C' is robust and unicuspid. I’ is displaced inward, so that I* and C' are in contact. Lower incisors are tricuspidated and imbricated. Condylo-canine lengths are 17-2-19-6 mm, and maxillary tooth row lengths are 7-1-8-2 mm. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 32 and FNa = 46.

Habitat. Deciduous and semideciduous forests, in lowlands, hills, and near seashores. In Sri Lanka, found in most lowlands in dry and wet zones up to elevations of ¢. 1000 m. In Nepal, collected in an arid floodplain with rocky ridges in Dang Valley (680 m). In Gia Lai Province, south-central Vietnam, collected in a large clearing in agricultural land with coffee plantations at 850 m. In Yok Don, south-central Vietnam, collected near an artificial pool in a patch of Lagerstroemia (Lythraceae) forest.

Food and Feeding. Tickell’s False Serotine eats beetles, termites, and other insects.

Breeding. Females have one relatively large young in June in Sri Lanka.

Activity patterns. Tickell’s False Serotine is nocturnal and forages in open areas among paddy fields and grasslands, with steady and slow flight, generally not more than 9-12 m aboveground, and with frequent twists and turns. It sometimes swoops nearly to ground level. An individual was seen flying over the seashore and another over water on Andaman Islands. It probably roosts in hollow trees. An individual recorded after release in Western Ghats, south-western India, emitted FM calls sweeping down from 58 kHz to 20 kHz, with most energy at ¢.28 kHz and call duration of c.5 milliseconds.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Tickell’s False Serotine defends a feeding area, especially when food is scarce. Individuals will return to the same patch, evening after evening, at about the same time. Intruders are frequently driven off, except when food is abundant. If a patch is shared,it is invariably by a male and female. When alarmed, individuals can utter a shrill squeak. During the day, it roosts alone or in very small mixed-sex groups hidden among foliage of very large, very dense, largeleafed trees. After it is concealed among leaves,it is very difficult to find.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCNRed List.

Bibliography. Amadoret al. (2018), Anderson (1881), Bates & Harrison (1997), Boitani et al. (2006), Corbet & Hill (1992), Csorba, Bumrungsri, Francis, Bates, Ong et al. (2008), Francis (2008a), Francis et al. (2010), Gorfol et al. (2019), Hassanin et al. (2018), Hendrichsen, Bates, Hayes & Walston (2001), Hill (1976), Hill & Harrison (1987), Horsfield (1851), Kruskop (2013a), Lekagul & McNeely (1988), McBee et al. (1986), Mitchell (1980), Molur et al. (2002), Pearch & Writer (2009), Phillips (1980), Simmons (2005), Srinivasulu & Srinivasulu (2012), Srinivasulu, C. et al. (2010), Wordley et al. (2014), Wroughton (1915a), Yapa & Ratnavira (2013).