Fig 1
Fig 2
Fig 3
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Order : CHIROPTERA
Family : Rhinolophidae
Species : Rhinolophus stheno
Forearm Length : up to
4.8 cm
Weight : up to 11 grams
The Lesser Brown Horseshoe
Bat inhabits hill and lowland forest including primary forest, disturbed secondary
forest and dry forest. The sonogram shown in Figure 3 (see caption) suggests
it may also occur in degraded coastal forest.
This small bat feeds on flying insects, and is known to
roost in rock crevices, caves and hollow trees.
The species possesses a simple, dark noseleaf and moderately large
ears. Its fur is of medium length, dark brown to reddish brown or orange in colour, and
somewhat paler on the belly. The wings are dark brown.
This species is somewhat uncommon but reportedly occurs in many parts of mainland Southeast
Asia including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Peninsular
Malaysia. In insular Southeast Asia it occurs on the islands of Sumatra and
Java. There are no unequivocal records from Singapore, where the species is
listed as 'indeterminate'.
Figs 1 and 2 : Roosting inside an abandoned building in lowland primary
forest at Taman
Negara, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. This specimen is tentatively
assigned as a Lesser Brown Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus stheno based
on fur colour, a simple noseleaf, facial skin and noseleaf colour, and ear size.
Fig 3 : Constant frequency (CF) call with a peak frequency of 86.1 kHz
recorded at the edge of dry, coastal forest at Tanjong Jara, Terennganu,
Peninsular Malaysia. (The frequency scale, on the left side, is from 38 to
124 kHz, and the time scale at bottom is 0-180 milliseconds). This call is identified as Rhinolophus stheno as the peak
frequency exactly matches that defined by Kingston et al (2000).
References : M5, M6
Kingston, T., Jones,
G., Zubaid, A. & Kunz, T. H. (2000). Resource partitioning in rhinolophoid
bats revisited. Oecologia, 124(3), 332-342.
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