Pipistrellus pulveratus

Pipistrellus pulveratus

Chinese Pipistrelle

Vesperugo pulveratus Peters, 1871: 618; Amoy, Fujian, China

New material from Myanmar

Mon State: Saddan Sin Cave, 2.11.2002, 2 ♂♂ (H5, H17) and 12.11.2002, 1 ♂ (H17); Kayin State: Yathay Pyan Cave, 5.11.2002, 1 ♂ (H8); Weibyan Cave, 6.10. 2002, 1 ♂ (H11); Shan State: Pyin Oo Lwin (BMNH collection; previously referred to H. (= Pipistrellus) savii by Corbet and Hill (1992); Badalin cave, 23.8.2003, 2 ♂♂ (I- BD3/4). There are no previous records.

Descriptive characters

This is a medium-sized species with a forearm length of 32.0– 35.2 mm based on nine specimens from Myanmar (Table 4; FA = 34.8–37.0 mm in Hendrichsen et al., 2001). The dorsal pelage is long, thick and silky with dark brown, almost black hairs on the back that are tipped with gold- en-brown. On the belly the hair roots are very dark with paler buff-brown tips. The fifth metacarpal is about equal in length to the third and fourth. The baculum, with a length of 2.6–3.1 mm, has straight shaft, hollowed out below and a simple, not bi- lobate base; the tip is bluntly pointed (Fig. 1D). In the skull, the zygomata are robust with a small dorsal process on each jugal bone. The basioccipital area has a well defined central ridge running between the two cochlea but the basioccipital pits are virtually absent. The second incisor (I3) attains the height of the secondary cusp of the first (I2) and is about equal in crown area. The upper canine (C1) is without a secondary cusp. The crown area of the first upper premolar (P2) varies between

about two-thirds to equal that of I2. The first lower premolar (P2) is two-thirds the crown area and between half and two-thirds the height of the second (P4).

Similar species

The distinctive dorsal pelage and bacu- lar morphology distinguish this species from all other similar sized pipistrelle spe- cies in the region.

Ecology

All the voucher specimens were collect- ed in mist nets set in large limestone caves, each of which has a series of large complex chambers. In Mon and Kayin States, the caves are primarily surrounded by paddy fields. Vegetation on the limestone outcrops includes climbers, ferns and a limited number of stunted trees. The original lowland evergreen and semi-evergreen rain forests have for the most part been cleared, with only scattered, highly disturbed remnants remaining. At Badalin, which is situated on the eastern margin of the central Dry Zone of Myanmar, the cave is surrounded by seasonally very dry, deciduous forest. Previously, specimen BMNH.14.7.8.6.3 (subsequently incorrectly referred to H. savii austenianus, see below) was collected from Pyin Oo Lwin (= Maymyo), which is situated on the western margin of the undu- lating Shan plateau at an altitude of 1080 m (3500 feet). Once surrounded by hills covered with deciduous forest, many years of intensive deforestation have meant that even by the start of 20th century much of the land had been converted to scrub, agricultural land and pockets of disturbed woodland