138.

Sind Bat

Rhyneptesicus nasutus

French: Sérotine perse / German: Arabische Breitarmfledermaus / Spanish: Rineptesicus persa

Other common names: Persian Serotine, Sind Serotine, Sind Serotine Bat

Taxonomy. Vesperugo (Vesperus) mnasutus Dobson, 1877,

“Shikarpur [east of Rohri], Sind,” Pakistan.

Normally included in Eptesicus, but now treated as the sole representative of Rhyneptesicus; its relationships remain uncertain, as it cannot be placed into any recognized tribe. Genetic studies appear to place it as sister to a clade including Vespertilionini and Pipistrellini, and it may be best placed into its own monotypic tribe. Three of the recognized races ( nasutus, matschiei, batinensis) have been supported by genetic data; they may form a cline of increasing body size from south to north. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

R.n.nasutusDobson,1877—EAfghanistan,SEIran,andSPakistan.

R.n.batinensisD.L..Harrison,1968—ESaudiArabia,UnitedArabEmirates,andOman;possiblyalsoQatarandBahrain.

R.n.matschietThomas,1905—SWSaudiArabiaandYemen.

R. n. pellucens Thomas, 1906 — Mesopotamian region of S Iraq and Iran; possibly Kuwait.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 40-56 mm, tail 38-49 mm, ear 12:5-14-4 mm, hindfoot 7-8 mm, forearm 31-3-39-9 mm. Muzzle is broad and flat, with prominent and nearly naked glands on either side. Dorsal pelage of the Sind Bat is buffy brown, ventral pelage is paler beige. Bare face, ears, and limbs are midto dark brown, but wing and uropatagium membranes are highly variable between subspecies, being much lighter brownish, significantly lighter than forearm color, and semi-translucent (pellucens) to grayish brown and similar to forearm color ( nasutus) usually with white reticulations across membranes. Ears are small and narrow with narrowly rounded tip; tragusis well developed and about one-half ear height, appearing straight with rounded tip. Wings attach at base of toes and extreme tip oftail extends past uropatagium margin; calcar lacks a postcalcarial lobe. Baculum is short, with deeply bifurcated base that branches into two thin basal rods; shaft gradually narrows to narrowly rounded tip. Skull is small; braincase is relatively small and flattened in lateral view; sagittal crest is absent and lambdoidal crests are low but conspicuous; supraoccipital is slightly convex and forms most posterior portion of skull; postorbital constriction is narrow; supraorbital ridges are well developed; zygomatic arches are gracile and lack dorsal projections, being widely flared anteriorly and posteriorly; palate is short and broad; tympanic bullae are relatively large and exceed breadth of basioccipital; coronoid process of each half mandible does not greatly exceed condyle in height. I? is unicuspid; I’ is relatively well developed and is onehalf height of I?; P* is relatively small, slightly exceeding one-half crown area of M'; P, is relatively small and crowded between C, and P; M, and M, are subequal in size; and M, has only slightly reduced talonid. Dental formulais12/3,C1/1,P 1/2, M 3/3 (x2) = 32.

Habitat. Primarily lowland semiarid and arid desert habitats but known from coastal regions in Mesopotamia and some highland regions. In United Arab Emirates, the Sind Bat is found in a variety of habitats, including desert oases, coastal outcrops,artificial tree lines, and mountain wadis. It often occurs around human habitation and water sources. Recorded at elevations from c.0 m to 1108 m; known from 480-850 m in Iran.

Food and Feeding. The Sind Bat appears to feed largely on beetles, and opportunistically takes swarming ants and other prey. Four diet samples from Oman and Yemen were dominated by Coleoptera (66-95% by volume). Digestive tracts offive individuals in Iran included many Coleoptera (60% by volume), especially Scarabaeidae (25%) and Carabidae (25%), but also Ipidae (5%) and Tenebrionidae (5%); in addition, Heteroptera (13%), Blattodea (9%), Auchenorrhyncha (8%), Hymenoptera (5%), and Lepidoptera (5%).

Breeding. Births appear to occur in mid-April in south-eastern Iran, as indicated by the report of three heavily pregnant females in Pir Sohrab and two lactating females in Chahar Dahaneh. In Oman, early-state pregnant females were captured in late March. Litter size appears to be 1-2, with two of the three females captured in Pir Sohrab having a single fetus and the other having two.

Activity patterns. The Sind Bat roosts during the day in wall crevices and behind stones of ruined buildings in Oman. It is known from caves nearrivers in South Asia. Searchcall shapeis a short FM/QCF sweep and in Iran,start frequencies were 39-6-43-9 kHz, end frequencies 37-7-39-8 kHz, peak frequencies 37-8-40-9 kHz, durations 5-8-9-2 milliseconds, and interpulse intervals 70-8-276-1 milliseconds.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Sind Bats appear to roost in small colonies, and up to ¢.20 individuals have been recorded in a single roost.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as Eptesicus nasutus).

Bibliography. Bates & Harrison (1997), Benda & Gaisler (2015), Benda & Reiter (2006), Benda, Al-Jumaily et al. (2011), Benda, Faizolahi et al. (2012), Harrison (1968a), Harrison & Bates (1991), Judas et al. (2018), Juste et al. (2013), Nader (1982), Sharifi, Amr et al. (2008), Sharifi, Hemmati & Rahimi (2000).