Triaenops persicus, Dobson, 1871

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Rhinonycteridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 194-209 : 205-206

2.

Persian Trident Bat

Triaenops persicus

French: Tr aenop de Perse German: Pers sdıe Dre zahnb attnase Spanish: Fl nonlcterro persa

Other common names: RufousTr dent Bat Trple Nose-leaf Bat

Taxonomy. Triaerrops pasicus Dobson, 1871 ,

“at near elevauon of about 4750 feet 1448 m] an Shiraz in Persia a lran].

D. L. Hanison in 1955 described sub species macdonaldí from the United Arab Emirates based 0 n pelage color; however, validity of characteristics separating this taxon were regarded as doubtful, and the name widely considered a junior synonym of 'E prrsirus. Populations in southwestern Arabia were assigned to an African subspecies afer , but this opinion was disproved, and populations are regarded as part of TÍ persinu. Monotypic.

Distribution. Narrow belt along W 8c S coast of Yemen, SW 8c NE Oman, E United Arab Emirates, S lran, and S Pakistan.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 56-72 mm, tail 27-38 mm, ear 13-6-17-4 mm, hindfoot 8-11 mm, foreann 48-58 mm; weight 6-18 g. The Persian Trident Bat is a large rhinonycterid. Pelage is similarly tinged dorsallv and ventrally; color is variable, including brownish orange, bright orange, pale vellowish, pale brown, and dark grayish brown; hairs are darker around eyes. Wing membranes are dark brown; noseleaf and ears are pale pinkish (unpigrnented) and pale gray to dark grayish brown. Noseleaf is large (width 7 -4-10-9 mm) and rounded or pentagonal, with strap-like longitudinal projection that resembles an hourglass in outline, lying across anterior part of anterior leaf, above deep anterior medial emargination. Three tall pointed projections occur on posterior part of posterior leaf, and its anterior part in medial position has long lanceolated projection, with sharplv pointed tip. Total width of the three posterior projections is c.50% the width of posterior leaf. Lateral parts of posterior leaf are scalloped by numerous cells and separated from each other by fleshy septa, with only one small cell in central position; lateral margins of two of three tall posterior projections are emarginated at their bases. Two supplementary leaflets occur lateral to noseleaf. Ears are short, wide, and pointed, with prominent step-like emargination on anterior margin. Second phalanx of fourth wing finger has unique transverse bone projection into membrane c. 2 -5-3 mm long. Skull has very prominent nasal swellings laterally and posteriorly. Braincase is almost as high as rostrum, and sagittal crest is long. Rostrum is relatively long compared with congeners. Wide plates are present on dorsal sides of zygomatic bones. Greatest skull lengths are 19-9-21 -8 mm, condylo-canine lengths are 15-6-18-3 mm, zygomaıic widths are 8 -4-9-9 mm, and upper tooth row (C -M lengths are 6-4-7-7 mm. l‘ is bilobed; C is slender, with slight cingulum and large posterior secondary cusp, extending one-half the C' crown height; P‘ is small and extruded, C' and P‘ are in or nearly in contact; and M‘ is only little reduced, with metacone. l, is bicuspid, I is tricuspid and larger than ll, C is slender, P? has about two-thirds the crown area and one-half the height of P4, and M is unreduced. Baculum is gracile and 1 -4-2-1 mm long, with broad proximal epiphysis and bifurcated distal epiphysis; it has narrow diaphysis (8-10% of baculum length), with relatively short arms at its distal epiphysis (arm length 0 -25-0-35 mm; c. l7-20% of baculum length) and moderately broad proximal epiphysis (basis width 0-55-0-75 mm; 35-42% of baculum length).

Habitat. Xeromorphic shrublands and Acacia (Fabaceae) woodlands, generally belonging to the group of Sudanian and sub-Sudanian savannas, from sea level to elevations of c. 1550 m. The Persian Trident Bat does not live in desert habitats or dry mountain forests, and both habitats represent perhaps outer limits of its distribution in lran and southern Arabia. Deserts of the Empty Quarter (Rub' al-Khali) interrupt its continuous occunence in Oman. Two pans of the distribution difier in annual vegetation cycle, influenced by different monsoon seasons: south-westem pan in Yemen and south-westem Oman with wet season in August-September and north-eastem pan in lran, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, and north-eastem Oman with wet season injanuary-February

Food and Feeding. Considering diet composition and occasional observations of foraging individuals, the Persian Trident Bat is probably an aerial hawker, preying on flying insects of various sizes at difl`erent heights aboveground. Foraging individuals are seen at water bodies in oases, gardens, and other densely vegetated places, where prey is expected to concenuate in arid environments. Individuals netted near and over open water ane the most common type of record of Persian Trident Bats. Medium-sized moths are most frequent prey and were found in all analyzed samples from Yemen and Oman. Generally, dietary spectrum of the Persian Trident Bat is rather narrow and unbalanced. Besides moths (3-99% in particular samples, mean 654%), grasshoppers (0-96%, mean 144%), beetles (0-51 %, mean 8-8%), bugs (0-47%, mean 74%), treehoppers (0-15%, mean 24 %), antlions (0-7%, mean 1 %), and some others groups were present in diets.

Breeding. ln nonh-eastem Oman, pregnant Persian Trident Bats were only found in early April. Each female had one fetus in latestage development, suggesting that births occur in mid-April. Examinations of females in other seasons did not reveal any sign of an ongoing reproduction. Hence, the Persian Trident Bat probably is seasonally monoestrous, with females giving birth to one young per year. lt is possible that timing of annual reproduction differs in the two distributional areas, due to different monsoons and vegetation cycles, with reproduction taking place during high food availability in wet seasons.

Activity patterns. The Persian Trident Bat is probably unable to enter torpor and does not hibernate. According to few occasional observations, it is fast and acrobatic and forages at various heights, low to the ground or over water and higher. lt leaves day roosts shortly before or at sunset and forages for several hours; foraging bats were netted c.2f) hours after sunset. The Persian Trident Bat roosts underground in natural caves and man-made structures, but there are few records of day roosts. Human-made structures used as roosts were an old fort, old underground quarry, and underground water channels (“aflaj”); use of natural caves has been documented only three times. Echolocation consists of multiharrnonic QCF calls where pulse is composed of long CF component, combined with short FM component at end (CF-FM); terminating FM component is steep sweep of 1-3 kHz. Entire call lasts 8-7-13-5 milliseconds (mean 10 -8 milliseconds); interpulse intervals are 29 -1-124-7 milliseconds (mean 55 -8 milliseconds); start frequencies are 76-7-83 -6 kHz (mean 81 -1 kHz), peak frequencies are 76-5-82 -6 kHz (mean 79-3 kHz), and end frequencies are 75 -7-81 ~6 kHz (mean 79-6 kHz).

Movements, Home range and Social organization. ln roosts, Persian Trident Bats hang from ca\e ceilings alone or exceptionally in small groups that can aggregate in small ceiling niches ifavailable; there are no data on size or sexual composition of such aggre~ gations. The largest group observed in a roost had only c.5 individuals. An unspecified “great number" of the Persian Trident Bats was reported from a cave in Yemen. ln most cases, numbers of roosting Persian Trident Bats were small and highly outnumbered by coroosting Geoffroys Trident Leaf-nosed Bats ( Asellia tridms). Persian Trident Bats roosted with Egyptian Rousettes (Rnusettus aegfiølratus), Muscat Mouse-tailed Bats ( Rhinopoma musmlellum). and Geoffrov`s Trident leaf-nosed Bats in an underground stone quarry in southern Iran and with Muscat Mouse-tailed Bats and Geoffrey's Trident leaf-nosed Bats and with Egvptian Rousettes, respectively, in two caves in Oman.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The lUCNRıd List. There is no direct evidence of threats to Persian Trident Bats, but they could be locally threatened by disturbance at roost sites and mining activities.

Bibliography Benda & Va o (2009) Benda eta 2012). Dobson (1871 a) Harrison (1955), Hıll (1982a). Kock å Felten (1980) Yerbury BıThomas (1895). Zdårská (2013)

Figures

1. Orange Diamond-faced Bat (Rhmonícteris aurantia), 2. Persian Trident Bat (Triaenops persicus), 3. Yemeni Trident Bat (Tnaenops paruus), 4. African Trident Bat (Triaenops afer), 5. Rufous Trident Bat (Triaenops menamena), 6. Percival`s Trident Bat (Cloeotis pemivali), 7. Grandidiefs Trident Bat (Paratnaenops auritus), 8. Trouessart’s Trident Bat (Paratriaenops furcula), 9. Paulian ’ Trident Bat s (Paratriaenops pauliani)

Distribution. Narrow belt along W 8c S coast of Yemen , SW 8c NE Oman , E United Arab Emirates , S lran, and S Pakistan .