Hesperoptenus tomesi Thomas, 1905

Bumrungsri, Sara, Harrison, David L., Satasook, Chutamas, Prajukjitr, Amorn, Thong-Aree, Siriporn & Bates, Paul J. J., 2006, A review of bat research in Thailand with eight new species records for the country, Acta Chiropterologica 8 (2), pp. 325-359 : 347-348

Hesperoptenus tomesi Thomas, 1905

Large false serotine

Hesperoptenus tomesi Thomas, 1905: 575 ; Malacca, Malaysia.

New Material

PSU-M 05.3, sex?, August 1993, 30th km Kangkachan-Phanernthung Road, Kangkachan National Park , Phetchaburi

Province, 12°54’00”N, 99°24’45”E, collected by S. Bumrungsri and Vichak Chimchome.

Taxonomic Notes

The description is based on the skull only as the skin is not available. The skull, which has a greatest length of 21.2 mm ( Table 5), compares favourably to the holotype. It is large and exceeds in size that of Hesperoptenus tickelli (17.2–19.9 mm — Corbet and Hill, 1992). It has prominent supraorbital ridges. Its posterior part is ele- vated. The well developed sagittal crest and lambdoid crests combine to make a high and posteriorly projecting lambda. The first upper anterior incisor (I 2) is large, both in crown area (with a transverse width of 1.3 mm) and crown height (2.0 mm). In H. tickelli , the comparable figures are 1.0– 1.1 mm, 1.5–1.8 mm, n = 4, respectively. The second upper incisor (I 3) is virtually flat but with a relatively large crown (transverse width of 1.0 mm). It is intruded within the toothrow, so that I 2 and the upper canine (C 1) are almost in contact. C 1 is large (1.7 mm in crown width and 4.5 mm in height: 1.4–1.6 mm and 3.1–3.7 mm, n = 4 respectively in H. tickelli ) and in contact with the upper premolar (P 4). The lower incisors are more robust than those of H. tickelli . The first lower premolar (P 2) is between one quarter and one third the crown area of the second (P 4).

Distribution and Ecological Notes

It is currently known from Sabah in Borneo and Malacca in peninsular Malaysia ( Medway, 1969; Corbet and Hill 1992; Koopman, 1993). This is the first confirmed record from Thailand.

In Kangkachan National Park, a single individual was collected on the ridge of a hill in a mist net set over a small pool. The surrounding habitat was pristine lower evergreen montane forest.