Kelaart, 1850
Kelaart's Leaf-nosed bat
External characters (Table 52)
A large Hipposideros with an average forearm length of 86.3 mm (75.0-99.0 mm). The noseleaf usually has four supplementary leaflets bordering the horseshoe; however, the fourth is much reduced and is sometimes absent (BW21). The anterior leaf is without a median emargination. The internarial septum is not inflated but the narial lappets are well developed. The intermediate leaf is expanded, its central part inflated and swollen; its upper surface is evenly concave. The posterior leaf is high and broad, its upper margin is "crown-shaped" with two broad but shallow lateral convexities and a more narrowly convex median projection. It is supported by three well defined septa enclosing four small cells. Pelage colour ranges from pale cream to fulvous brown (Hla1.mov), orange (Hla1) and even bright red. It tends to be darker on the forehead, shoulders and on the rump. It is paler on the belly. The wing structure is similar to that of H. armiger . The maximum weight of males is 76 grams and of non-pregnant females is 55 grams (Sapkal and Bhandarkar, 1984). The baculum is robust with two long ventrally curved distal processes and a bilobate base (Fig. 102).
Cranial characters
The skull is robust with an average condylo-canine length of 28.6 mm (24.8-31.5 mm). The frontal region of the rostrum is inflated and convex, not flattened as in H. armiger . Unlike H. diadema , there is no posterior depression. The frontals are significantly narrower than those of H. armiger . In lateral profile, there is a sharp angle between the plane of the nasal orifice and the dorsal surface of the nasal inflations. In H. armiger , this sharp angulation is not present. The sagittal crest is less well developed than that of H. armiger and the braincase is shallower. The mesop-terygoid space is V-shaped anteriorly; its roof is not elevated above the floor of the narial canal and the vomer just extends beyond the posterior part of the palate. In H. armiger , it is U-shaped anteriorly; the roof of the mesopterygoid space is elevated and the vomer projects further posteriorly. The cochlea of each tympanic bulla is less inflated than that of H. armiger . The mandible is very robust and the angular processes are well developed and angled outwards.
Dentition
- Upper toothrow length (C-M3) averages 13.4 mm (11.6-14.5 mm). The upper incisor (I2) is bicuspid and appears minute in comparison to the massive canine, the cingulum of which is most developed internally. The first upper premolar (PM2) is smooth crowned and small; it is situated externally to the toothrow. M3 is greatly reduced, as in H. armiger it is less than half the crown area of M2. It includes a parastyle, mesostyle and two commissures; a vestige of a third commissure is sometimes present.
- In contrast to H. diadema and H. armiger , the crown area of the second lower incisor (i2) greatly exceeds that of the first (i1) (Fig. 100). The talonid of m3 is considerably reduced in comparison to the trigonid.
Variation
Specimens from Sri Lanka are referable to H. l. lankadiva. They are relatively large with an average forearm length of 90.3 mm (86.9-99.0 mm) and a condylo-canine length of 30.8 mm (30.2-31.5 mm). Specimens from India are smaller with a forearm length of 83.0 mm (75.0-89.0 mm) and a condylo-canine length of 27.4 mm (24.8-28.5 mm); they are referred to H. l. indus . Other subspecies named by Andersen, 1918 including mixtus from Karnataka and unitus from Madhya Pradesh are not considered valid as the principal diagnostic character, pelage colour, exhibits considerable individual variation.
Taxonomic remarks
Andersen, 1918 described specimens from Vijayanagar as a discrete species, H. schistaceus , on account of their smaller skull size and slate grey dorsal pelage colour. Subsequent workers have followed this view. However, further examination of specimens in The Natural History Museum, London has shown that with the exception of the holotype (BM.13.4.10.3) and specimen BM.13.4.10.4 all others are juveniles, with the epiphyses of the wing bones unfused. Furthermore, since the forearm measurement of the holotype of schistaceus exceeds that of indus and since the condylo-canine lengths of two juvenile topotypes of schistaceus are 25.1 mm and 25.3 mm and the holotype of indus is only 26.3 mm the two taxa do not appear to be distinguishable by size. In consequence, schistaceus is here included as a synonym of H. l. indus .