Cynopterus brachyotis Müller 1838

Cynopterus brachyotis Müller 1838, Tijdschr. Nat. Gesch. Physiol., 5: 146.

Type Locality: Borneo, Dewei (= Dewai) River.

Vernacular Names: Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat.

Subspecies::

Subspecies Cynopterus brachyotis subsp. brachyotis Müller 1838

Subspecies Cynopterus brachyotis subsp. altitudinis Hill 1961

Subspecies Cynopterus brachyotis subsp. brachysoma Dobson 1871

Subspecies Cynopterus brachyotis subsp. ceylonensis Gray 1871

Subspecies Cynopterus brachyotis subsp. concolor Sody 1940

Subspecies Cynopterus brachyotis subsp. hoffeti Bourret 1944

Subspecies Cynopterus brachyotis subsp. insularum K. Andersen 1910

Subspecies Cynopterus brachyotis subsp. javanicus K. Andersen 1910

Distribution: Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, S China, Malaysia, Nicobar and Andaman Isls, Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Magnole, Sanana, Sangihe Isls, Talaud Isls and adjacent small islands. Perhaps present in the Palawan region of the Philippines (L. Heaney, pers. comm.).

Conservation: IUCN / SSC Action Plan (1992) – Not Threatened. IUCN 2003 – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: This taxon is sometimes confused with sphinx, and the status of many populations is in doubt. Does not include angulatus, which was transferred to sphinx by Hill and Thonglongya (1972). Includes minor; see Hill (1983) and Corbet and Hill (1992). Does not include luzoniensis and minutus; see Kitchener and Maharadatunkamsi (1991). May include scherzeri, here included in sphinx following Kitchener and Maharadatunkamsi (1991) and Bates and Harrison (1997). Bates and Harrison (1997) also referred brachysoma and andamanesis to sphinx with some reservations. See Andersen (1912) for discussion of duvaucelii and grandidieri. Corbet and Hill (1992) included babi (here considered a subspecies of sphinx) in this species without comment. See discussion of diagnostic characters in Bates and Harrison (1997) and Mapatuna et al. (2002).