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Order : CHIROPTERA
Family : Rhinolophidae
Species : Rhinolophus refulgens
Forearm Length : up to 4.1 cm
The Glossy Horseshoe Bat,
roosts in caves, boulder crevices, and man-made structures such as tunnels
and drain culverts. The relative abundance of this species in original
lowland forest, such as occurs at Krau Wildlife Reserve, Peninsular
Malaysia, can be highly variable (Kingston et al, 2006).
This is a small bat
with two colour phases - one reddish-brown, the other grey. In all
forms the fur is quite glossy, and the underparts are pale.
The noseleaf is elaborate and comprises a typically shaped anterior
horseshoe structure, a pointed bifurcated 'connecting process' above the stella, and a high, pointed
lancet.
On the island of Tioman, which lies off the east coast of Peninsular
Malaysia in the South China Sea, this bat is regularly active by day. It is
postulated that the reduced number of diurnal avian predators on the island
has allowed the species to take advantage of daytime insect prey (Chua &
Aziz, 2018, as Rhinolophus lepidus).
Rhinolophus refulgens is currently treated as a separate species to
Rhinolophus lepidus (Blyth's Horseshoe Bat) (Soisook et al, 2016).
Rhinolophus lepidus
occurs in the Indian Subcontinent, southern China and Indochina. Rhinolophus refulgens has a complimentary
geographical range from southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore
to Sumatra.
These images are all from
Singapore, where this bat was formerly referred to Rhinolophus lepidus,
but is now referred to Rhinolophus refulgens.
Figs 1 and 2 : Patrolling the forest searching
for flying insects.
Figs 3 and 4 : Typical roost amongst granite
boulders, in a steep, wooded valley.
Figs 5 and 6 : A reddish-brown and a greyish example, both from
Singapore.
References : M3
Chua, M. A. & Aziz, S.
A. 2018. Into the light: atypical diurnal foraging activity of Blyth’s
horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus lepidus (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) on
Tioman Island, Malaysia. Mammalia.
Soisook, P., Karapan, S., Srikrachang, M., Dejtaradol, A., Nualcharoen, K.,
Bumrungsri, S., ... & Bogdanowicz, W. (2016). Hill forest dweller: a new
cryptic species of Rhinolophus in the 'pusillus group' (Chiroptera:
Rhinolophidae) from Thailand and Lao PDR. Acta Chiropterologica, 18(1),
117-139.
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