Sind bat

Sind bat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Vespertilionidae
Subfamily: Vespertilioninae
Genus: Rhyneptesicus
Bianchi, 1917
Species:
R. nasutus
Binomial name
Rhyneptesicus nasutus
(Dobson, 1877).
Synonyms
  • Vesperugo (Vesperus) nasutus Dobson, 1877
  • Eptesicus nasutus (Dobson, 1877)

The Sind bat (Rhyneptesicus nasutus), also known as the Sind serotine bat or Persian serotine, is a species of vesper bat belonging to the family Vespertilionidae; this species the only member of the monospecific genus Rhyneptesicus. It is found in forests and arid areas near waterbodies in southwestern Asia.

Taxonomy

The Sind bat was first formally described as Vesperugo (Vesperus) nasutus in 1877 by the Irish zoologist George Edward Dobson with its type locality given as Shikarpur, Sind in modern Pakistan. In 1917 Valentin Bianchi proposed the genus Rhyneptesicus for what was then known as Eptesicus nasutus and subsequent studies have found that the Sind bat is not as closely related to the serotine bats as had been thought and indicated that Rhyneptesicusis a valid genus. This taxon is classified as incertae sedis within the subfamily Vespertilioninae of the family Vespertilionidae, in the suborder Yangochiroptera of the order Chiroptera.

Subspecies

The Sind bat has four proposed subspecies:

  • R. n. nasutus (Dobson, 1877) - Southwest Pakistan, Afghanistan and Southeast Iran
  • R. n. pellucens Thomas, 1906 - Iran and Iraq
  • R. n. matschiei (Thomas, 1905) southwest Arabia
  • R. n. batinensis (Harrison, 1968) - southeast Arabia

Description

The Sind bat was distinguished from the serotine bats by having compartively narrower, pointed ears, with a long tragus. Its teeth are also different with a unicuspid first upper incisor and complete molars with protocrista. The baculum is simlar to those of Eptesicus bats. The fur is short, yellow on the back fading on the breast and belly to pale buff, nearly white. The wing membrane is pale brown crossed by white vermiculations. The length of the head and body of this bat is 40 to 56 mm (1.6 to 2.2 in) and the tail length is 38 to 49 mm (1.5 to 1.9 in).

Distribution and habitat

The Sind bat is found in southwestern Asia in the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was only confirmed to occur in some regions relatively recently. For example in Bahrain it had been misidentified as Rüppell's bat (Vansonia ruepplelli) but its presence was confirmed in 2019, when it was found to be reasonably numerous in the Kingdom. They are mainly accociated with lowland semidesert and desert environments but are also found in coastal regions and in highlands. In some areas they are associated with human habitation, farmland, shelterbelts and may be found around water.

Biology

The Sind bat apparently feeds mainly on beetles, abut will catch swarming ants and other prey. They give birth in mid-April in south-eastern Iran, while in Oman pregnant females were found in late March. The litter size is 1 or 2 pups. This species roosts in wall crevices and in ruined buidings in Oman, it will use caves elsewhere, roosting in small colonies, and up to around 20 individuals.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Benda, P.; Srinivasulu, C. & Srinivasulu, B. (2019). "Rhyneptesicus nasutus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019 e.T7935A22117147. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T7935A22117147.en. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Javier Juste; Petr Benda; Juan García-Mudarra & Carlos Ibáñez (2013). "Phylogeny and systematics of Old World serotine bats (genus Eptesicus, Vespertilionidae, Chiroptera): an integrative approach". Zoologica Scripta. 42 (5): 441–457. doi:10.1111/zsc.12020. hdl:10261/80441.
  3. 1 2 3 "Rhyneptesicus nasutus (Dobson, 1877) Sind Bat". The Mammal Diversity Database. The American Society of Mammalogists. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  4. ↑ Morales, Ariadna E.; Liang, Yan; Thomas, William R.; et al. (2026-09-23). "Reference genomes and fossils revise bat family phylogeny and biogeography". Nature. 658 (8134): 141–152. Bibcode:2026Natur.658..141M. doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11007-3. ISSN 0028-0836. PMC 13626947. PMID 42778608.
  5. ↑ Obaid, Ahmed; Shuraim, Faisal; Boug, Ahmad; et al. (2023). "Diversity and Conservation of Bats in Saudi Arabia". Diversity. 15 (6) 700. Bibcode:2023Diver..15..700A. doi:10.3390/d15060700.
  6. ↑ Dobson, G. E. (1877). "XII.—Notes on a collection of Chiroptera from India and Burma". The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 46 (2). Bishop’s College Press: 310–313.
  7. 1 2 3 Don E. Wilson; Russell A. Mittermeier (2019). "Vespertilionidae Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats". Zenodo Biodiversity Literature Repository. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
  8. ↑ Petr Benda & Marcel Uhrin (2019). "On the bat fauna of the Bahrain Archipelago (Chiroptera)". Lynx, Series Nova. 50: 5–27.