Cantor, 1846
Cantor's Leaf-nosed bat
External characters (Table 48)
This is a medium-small species with a forearm length averaging 47.2 mm (45.0-51.3 mm). The noseleaf is simple, essentially similar to that of H. ater , but broader and differing in the presence of two pairs of well developed supplementary lateral leaflets (Hga1). The outer leaflet is not significantly smaller than the inner. The anterior leaf is without a median emargination; the internarial septum is small, triangular shaped and with a narrow base; the nostrils are large and well defined, each has a small lappet on its external border. The intermediate leaf is simple with a slightly convex superior border. The posterior leaf has three well developed septa which divide it into four discrete cells. There is a frontal sac in males; in female there is a depression containing a tuft of hairs. The ears are broad at the base, triangular in shape and with a slight concavity below the narrowly rounded-off tip on the posterior border; they are distinctly smaller than those of H. fulvus (BW18). The backs of the ears are covered with relatively thick fur for two-thirds of their surface, only the tip is naked. In the wing, the fifth metacarpal is significantly shorter than the fourth and third. This is comparable to H. speoris but differs from H. fulvus in which the third is the shortest metacarpal. The phalanges of the third metacarpal are comparatively short and do not exceed the metacarpal in length. The pelage (Hga2) is individually variable in colour with some specimens a darker brown than others; the hair bases are paler. The minute baculum has an expanded, simple base, a narrow shaft and a slightly quadrifid tip (Fig. 94).
Cranial characters
The skull is small with an average condylo-canine length of 15.0 mm (14.6-15.8 mm). The rostrum is relatively broad; its four nasal inflations are distinctly more bulbous than those of H. fulvus . There is a small nasal depression behind these rostral inflations and the posterior borders of the rostrum are angular not rounded as in H. ater . The sagittal crest is low, scarcely evident in some specimens. Each zygoma has a well defined dorsal process on the posterior part of the jugal bone. The mesopterygoid space is short and broad, its anterior border is U-shaped. The tympanic bullae are small in comparison to those of H. fulvus ; they are considerably smaller than the cochleae. The mandible is similar to that of H. fulvus .
Dentition
- Upper toothrow length (C-M3) averages 5.8 mm (5.3-6.2 mm). The first upper premolar (PM2) is reduced and displaced externally from the toothrow; the canine and second upper premolar (PM4) are in contact or nearly so. M3 differs significantly from that of H. fulvus , being less reduced; it includes a parastyle, mesostyle and four commissures, the fourth commissure is very short. In H. fulvus , most of the third and all of the fourth commissure are missing.
- The first lower premolar (pm2) is about equal in crown area to the second (pm4) and about two thirds its height.
Variation
Specimens from India and Sri Lanka are referred to H. g. brachyotus ; the first lower premolar (pm2) is characteristically large (Hill, 1963c).