9. Indonesian Tomb Bat

Taphozous achates

French: Taphien d'Indonésie / German: Indonesien-Grabfledermaus /Spanish: Tafozo indonesio

Taxonomy. Taphozous achates Thomas, 1915,

“ Savu I[slan] d., East of Timor [= Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia].”

Taphozous achates is in the subgenus Taphozous. Until recently, it was included in. melanopogon. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

. a. achates Thomas, 1915 - Lesser Sunda Is, recorded from Nusa Perfida, Savu, Semau, Roti, Timor, Wetar, Leti, and Babar Is.. a. minor Kitchener, 1995 — restricted to two island groups in E Indonesia: Tanimbar Is and Kai Is.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 74—78-5 mm, tail 25-3—27-3 mm, ear 19-1—20-7 mm, hindfoot 5-4—6-5 mm, forearm 59-6—63-7 mm; weight 21-23-5 g. There is no appreciable sexual dimorphism in the Indonesian Tomb Bat. The two subspecies are quite similar in external appearance and differ primarily in smaller size of skull and external measurements of minor. Dorsal hairs are dark drab brown, with white basal parts; ventral hairs are drab gray, with cream or white basal parts. Mature males have light drab brown throat beards. Proximal one-third of inner dorsal surfrice of forearm is lightly furred and similar in color to dorsal pelage. Ear is lightly haired along margin. Uropatagium is lightly furred.

Habitat. Coastal and lowland areas from sea level to elevations of c.1000 m.

Food and Feeding. The Indonesian Tomb Bat feeds on aerial insects.

Breeding. Two female Indonesian Tomb Bats were not lactating in midJune on Kai Island.

Activity patterns. The Indonesian Tomb Bat roosts in limestone caves.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. On Kai Island, Indonesian Tomb Bats roost in association with Fawn-colored Leaf-nosed Bats (Hipposideros cervinus), Small Asian Sheath-tailed Bats (Emballonura alecto), Little Long-fingered Bats (Miniopterus australis), Stalker’s Myotis (Myotis stalkeri), and New Guinea Broad-eared Horseshoe Bats (Rhinolophus euryotis).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCNRed List. Population status of the Indonesian Tomb Bat is unknown. The species is known only from a few localities. Potential threats include cave disturbance by human and domestic animal entry and limestone extraction. It occurs in some protected reserves. Before adequate protective measures can occur, research needs to be conducted to better understand distribution, ecology, population structure, and taxonomy of the Indonesian Tomb Bat in relation to its sister species, the Black-bearded Tomb Bat (. melanopogon).

Bibliography. Flannery (1995b), Kitchener & Suyanto (1995), Kitchener, Schmitt eta/. (1993), Simmons (2005).