Yaeyama little horseshoe bat

Yaeyama little horseshoe bat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Rhinolophidae
Genus: Rhinolophus
Species:
R. perditus
Binomial name
Rhinolophus perditus
Synonyms

Rhinolophus cornutus perditus[3]

The Yaeyama little horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus perditus) is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae that is endemic to the Yaeyama Islands of Japan.

Taxonomy

Rhinolophus perditus was first described by Knud Andersen in 1918, based on a female specimen in the Natural History Museum that had been purchased by Alan Owston (B.M. no. 5.11.3.15); the type locality is given as "Ishigaki, southern Liu-Kiu", and its relatively large teeth are noted.[2]: 376–7  Included in Mammal Species of the World (2005) as Rhinolophus cornutus perditus,[3]: 353  i.e., as a subspecies of the Japanese little horseshoe bat, the Yaeyama little horseshoe bat is now treated as an independent species by authorities including the IUCN[1] and the editors of Handbook of the Mammals of the World[4] and Wild Mammals of Japan (2015), published under the auspices of the Mammal Society of Japan.[5] The last two works also include Imaizumi's horseshoe bat (protonym, Rhinolophus imaizumii) as a subspecies of the Yaeyama little horseshoe bat, under the combination R. p. imaizumii.[4][5] In its native Japan, the bat is known by the vernacular name Yaeyama kokikugashira-kōmori (ヤエヤマコキクガシラコウモリ).[5]

Two subspecies are "tentatively" recognized:[4]

Description

The bat's external morphology resembles that of the Japanese little horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus cornutus) and Okinawa little horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus pumilus), differences including a larger nose-leaf and skull length, and shorter tibia than the Okinawa little horseshoe bat.[5] The constant frequency (CF) echolocation values of its calls are also lower than those of these other two species.[5]

Ecology

The Yaeyama little horseshoe bat is nocturnal and, though active all year round, is believed to hibernate but with frequent awakening in order to forage .[5] It roosts in caves, often together with the Ryūkyū long-fingered bat (Miniopterus fuscus), as well as in abandoned mines, and old bomb shelters.[4][5] The bat's diet consists of insects, in particular Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Coleoptera (beetles), Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants), and Diptera (flies), for which they forage mainly in areas of woodland.[5] Females are monoestrous and form "maternity colonies" of several hundred to over a thousand individuals in May.[5] They give birth to a single pup.[5]

Conservation status

The Yaeyama little horseshoe bat is classed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.[1] The principal threats are deforestation and habitat loss, destruction of their roosts, and disturbance by tourists.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Fukui, D.; Sano, A. (2020). "Rhinolophus perditus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T85707170A85707174. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T85707170A85707174.en. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Andersen, K. (1918). "Diagnoses of new Bats of the Families Rhinolophidae and Megadermatidae". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 9. 2 (10): 374–384. doi:10.1080/00222931808562380. ISSN 0374-5481.
  3. ^ a b Simmons, N.B. (2005). "Chiroptera". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Vol. 1. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 312–529. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4.
  4. ^ a b c d Wilson, D.E.; Mittermeier, R., eds. (2019). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 9: Bats. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 311–312. ISBN 978-84-16728-19-0.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ohdachi, S.D.; Ishibashi, Y.; Iwasa, M.A.; Fukui, D.; Saitoh, T., eds. (2015). The Wild Mammals of Japan (2 ed.). Shoukadoh and The Mammal Society of Japan. pp. 65–66. ISBN 978-4879746917.
  6. ^ Hill, J.E.; Yoshiyuki, M. [in Japanese] (1980). "A new species of Rhinolophus (Chiroptera, Rhinolophidae) from Iriomote Island, Ryukyu Islands, with notes on the Asiatic members of the Rhinolophus pusillus group" (PDF). Bulletin of the National Science Museum, Series A (Zoology). 6 (3): 179–189. ISSN 0385-2423.