(Dobson, 1874)
Burmese Whiskered bat
External characters (Table 67)
The local subspecies M. montivagus peytoni has an average forearm length of 45.3 mm (44.7-46.8 mm). The dorsal pelage is medium-short in length and soft; it is dark brown, with chocolate brown hair tips and blackish roots. On the ventral surface, the hair bases are dark; the tips paler brown to fawn. The face is densely covered with hairs. The ears are relatively short and bluntly pointed; the anterior surface is smoothly convex, the posterior surface has a shallow concavity beneath the tip. The tragus is short, less than half the height of the pinna. The membranes are a uniform dark brown and essentially naked. The wings are attached to the base of the outer phalanx of each foot. The feet are not greatly enlarged, less than half the length of the tibiae.
Cranial characters
The skull is robust with an average condylo-canine length of 15.3 mm (15.1-15.6 mm). The rostrum is broad, slightly flattened and about equal in length to the braincase. The sagittal and lambdoid crests are weakly developed. The supraoccipital is vertical and projects posteriorly about equal to the lambda. The zygomata are broadly flared with a slight dorsal thickening of the jugal bone. The braincase is elavated above the rostrum but without a marked post nasal depression. The coronoid process of each half mandible greatly exceeds the canine in height; it has a vertical anterior border and the posterior surfaces slopes gently downwards to the condyle.
Dentition
- Upper toothrow length (C-M3) averages 6.6 mm (6.5-6.8 mm). The upper canine is relatively short and broad. The first (PM2) and second (PM3) upper premolars are reduced; PM3 is less than half the crown area of PM2 and is displaced internally, so that it is not visible from without. PM2 and PM4 are sometimes in contact.
- The first (i1) and second (i2) lower incisors have three cusps; the third (i3) has four. The lower canine is short, scarcely exceeding the third lower premolar (pm4) in height. The second lower premolar (pm3) is half the crown area of the first (pm2); it is compressed tightly in the toothrow or is occasionally displaced internally.
Variation
Specimens from southern India are relatively large with a forearm length of 44.7-46.8 mm and are referred to M. m. peytoni . Those from Myanmar are smaller, with a forearm length ranging from 40.0-40.5 mm, and are assigned to M. m. montivagus .