Pipistrellus endoi Imaizumi 1959

34.

Endo’s Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus endoi

French: Pipistrelle d'Endo / German: Endo-Zwergfledermaus / Spanish: Pipistrela de Endo

Taxonomy. Pipistrellus endoi Imaizumi, 1959,

Horobe, Ashiro-cho, Ninohe-Gun, Iwate Prefecture, Honshu, Japan.

Relationship of P. endoi to other species of Pipistrellus is uncertain, but it seems to be similar to P. abramus. Monotypic.

Distribution. Honshu and Shikoku Is, Japan.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 40-49-5 mm, tall 28-38-53 mm, ear 10-12-5 mm, hindfoot 6-5—-8-2 mm, forearm 29-8-34-2 mm; weight 5-6-8-7 g. Pelage of Endo’s Pipistrelle is woolly, slightly curled, and buffy. Dorsum is glossy reddish brown; venter is lighter brown. Ears and membranes are blackish brown. Ventral fur extends to line joining knee and basal one-third of humerus on wing membrane. Upper surface of uropatagium is furred nearly to middle. Nostrils are naked, and internarial septum is broad. Calcar is long, and uropatagium extends nearly to end oftail (only last millimeter oftail is free). Baculum is relatively long and slightly curved, with straight line length of 9-10 mm. Skull is small, robust, and heavily built; zygomatic width is comparatively wide; muzzle is short; braincase is swollen laterally; postorbital process is weakly developed; both upper incisors are bicuspid; P? is higher than cingulum of C! and within tooth row; P* is well separate from C'; I, is apparently missing; and lower molars are nyctalodont. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 36 and FN = 50.

Habitat. Primarily mature deciduous mixed forests at elevations of 100-1500 m (favoring elevations above 1000 m). Endo’s Pipistrelles avoid urban areas, unlike related Japanese Pipistrelles (P. abramus). There is one record of Endo’s Pipistrelle in secondary forest in suburban Tokyo.

Food and Feeding. Endo’s Pipistrelle is insectivorous.

Breeding. Endo’s Pipistrelle seems to be seasonally monoestrous, with delayed fertilization. A pregnant female was captured in mid-August in Hiroshima prefecture and lactating females in late July in Ishikawa prefecture and in early August in Aomori prefecture, Japan. Litter size seems to be at least two young; a female with two embryos was captured in late March and kept in captivity until July; she gave birth to a male and a female in mid-June, suggesting parturition occurs earlier than previously thought during summer.

Activity patterns. Endo’s Pipistrelle is nocturnal. Hibernation has been recorded in a cavity in a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica, Cupressaceae) in January and in crevices at an industrial stone pit from Novemberto late March. It apparently roosts in tree cavities and under bark and in buildings and rock crevices in rare cases. There is one record of an individual roosting in a cave. A maternity colony was observed in a cavity in a large tree (Fagaceae).

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Endo’s Pipistrelle has a very fragmented and small distribution. Destruction of primary forest is a major threat. It does not seem to be adaptable to habitat degradation and does not often use man-made structures for roosts.

Bibliography. Abe et al. (2005), Ando et al. (1987), Hill & Harrison (1987), Imaizumi (1959), Kasahi et al. (2006), Kawai, Echenique-Diaz et al. (2015), Maeda (2008a), Ohdachi et al. (2009), Son Sung-Won et al. (1988), Yamamoto et al. (2005), Yasui & Kamijo (1990), Yoshiyuki (1989, 1990).