439.

Sichuan Myous

Myotis altarium

French: Murin de I'Emei / German: Sichuan-Bartfledermaus / Spanish: Ratonero de Sichuan

Other common names: South-western Mouse-eared Bat, Szechwan Myotis

Taxonomy. Myotis altarium Thomas, 1911,

“Omisan [= Omei Shan], Sze-chwan [=Szechwan],” China.

Subgenus Myotis; mystacinus species group. See M. ikonnikovi . Monotypic.

Distribution. NE India (Meghalaya), C & E China (Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Anhui), E Thailand, and N Vietnam.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 47-60 mm, tail 36-49 mm, ear 18- 3-24 mm, hindfoot 8: 7-12 mm, forearm 41- 4-47 mm; weight 8-11 g. Dorsal pelage of the Sichuan Myotis is light to blackish brown (hairs with whitish tips); ventral pelage is paler. Ears are very long, narrow, black, and semi-translucent, with a distinct lobule at base; tragusis long, thin, and bluntly pointed. Muzzle is short and almost pug-like; bare portions of face, ears, and membranes are brown to blackish brown. Wings attach at base of outer toes, hindfeet are moderately long, and calcar is weakly lobed. Posterior margin of uropatagium is fringed with hairs. Skull has short, distinctly upturned rostrum; forehead region is sharply sloped; cranium is distinctly protruding. P* and P, are very small. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 44 and FNa = 50 or 52 (China).

Habitat. All known specimens have been collected from limestone caves. The Sichuan Myotis has been recorded at elevations of ¢. 1000 m in Guizhou and Thailand.

Food and Feeding. In Guizhou, Sichuan Myotis fed mostly on Carabidae and Silphidae ( Coleoptera, 80-8% by volume, 100% by frequency), with smaller amounts of Lepidoptera (3-5%, 15-5%), Orthoptera (29%, 5-2%), Diptera (1-6%, 9-5%), and Neuroptera (1%, 3-4%); 9-7% were not identifiable. In Meghalaya, a few fragments of beetle elytra were found between molars of a female. Based on their preference for ground-dwelling carabids and silphids,it is likely that these bats forage by gleaning.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Sichuan Myotis appears to roost mainly in limestone caves. They spend the day roosting in a torpid state and spend the night foraging. Calls are a steep FM sweep with an average start frequency of 75-8 kHz (58-9-82-8 kHz), end frequency 35-6 kHz (34-3-37-3 kHz), and duration 1-1 milliseconds (0-9-1-4 milliseconds) recorded from flying individuals in Vietnam. In China, recordings from flying bats had a start frequency of 63-3 kHz and end frequency of 42-9 kHz.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Sichuan Myotisis widespread and relatively common throughout much ofits range.

Bibliography. Ao Lei et al. (2006), Blood & McFarlane (1988), Csorba & Francis (2008), Findley (1972), Fu Danfeng et al. (2010), Gu Xiaoming et al. (2003), Hu Kailiang et al. (2012), Nguyen Truong Son et al. (2013), Smith & Xie Yan (2008), Thong Vu Dinh et al. (2018), Wu Yi et al. (2006), Zhang Yanjun et al. (2010).