Hipposideros pomona Andersen 1918

10. Hipposideros pomona Andersen, 1918 Andersen’s Roundleaf Bat

New records

North Andaman Islands: Chalis Ek and Ramnagar; Middle Andaman Islands: Baratang, Burmadera, Havelock Island, Karmatang, and Nayadera; Little Andaman Island: V.K. Pur and Hut Bay.

Previous records

South Andaman Island: Mount Harriet (ZSIK) and Little Andaman (HZM).

Comments

Out of 25 individuals captured, 14 specimens were collected. Aul et al. (2014) report this species to be absent from Andaman Islands, but two specimens collected from Little Andaman Island by Ms. Bandana Aul are registered at Harrison Institute, United Kingdom. Furthermore, Aul et al. (2014) report the sightings of H. fulvus from Cliff Bay, Point Island, and Paget Island in North Andaman; from Interview Island, Baratang Island, and Cuthbert Bay in Middle Andaman; and from Little Andaman Island, where it was not detected during the present study. The echolocation calls and baculum structure of the Andaman population, from many sites throughout the islands, confirm the presence of H. pomona on the Andaman Islands. Our surveys, and studies on the specimens collected by Ms. Bandana Aul (HZM 16.34710 and 17.34727), show that the species present on this island archipelago is in fact H. pomona and not H. fulvus, suggesting a clear case of misidentification of the species. Although these species are difficult to discern morphologically, they can be clearly differentiated based on the shape of the noseleaf, structure of the internarial septum, and the length of the phalanges. In H. fulvus the 2ph3mt is subequal to slightly longer than the 1ph3mt, while in H. pomona, 2ph3mt is shorter than 1ph3mt. In H. fulvus the noseleaf is small, and the internarial septum is long and narrow, while in H. pomona, the noseleaf is cup shaped and broad and the internatial septum is parallel sided and robust. The H. pomona specimens from Andaman matched with the typical H. pomona characters. We studied H. pomona from at least 12 locations throughout the Andaman Islands and base our findings on morphological characters and echolocation call characteristics.

The present study has also revealed the presence of a new phonotype of H. pomona (provisionally H. cf. pomona, n = 4) from Havelock Island in South Andaman Islands. Distinct echolocation calls, variations in the structure of noseleaf and baculum, and COI gene sequence indicates that this population could potentially be a new species of Hipposideros from the islands.