Thomas, 1916
Thomas's Pipistrelle
External characters (Table 98)
This is a medium-sized species with an average forearm length of 35.1 mm (32.6-36.5 mm). The pelage is soft, dense and relatively long. It is a uniform dark brown on the dorsal surface, with the hair roots slightly darker than the tips; the ventral surface is a paler chestnut brown, with the hair roots dark brown/ black. The membranes and ears are a uniform dark brown and essentially naked.
Cranial characters
The skull, with an average condylo-canine length of 12.7 mm (12.6-12.8 mm) appears relatively elongated. The rostrum is short in comparison to that of P. savii ; it is not especially broadened and not greatly angulated inwards posteriorly; the nasal notch is large and rounded. The braincase is narrow and rounded, not flattened as in P. savii . The cranial profile is almost completely straight from the nares to the lambda, without a frontal depression between the braincase and the rostrum. The palate is short and the basisphenoid pits are large and deep.
Dentition
- Upper toothrow length (C-M3) averages 4.7 mm (4.6-4.9 mm). The first upper incisor (I2) is short and broad and has a distinct secondary cusp; the second incisor (I3) almost attains the height of I2; in some specimens, it is separated from the canine by a short diastema. The upper canine is without a secondary cusp. The first upper premolar (PM2) is minute, about one third of the crown area of I2; it is situated in the recess formed by the upper canine and second upper premolar (PM4) which are in contact, or nearly so.
- The first lower premolar (pm2) is situated in the toothrow; it is two-thirds the crown area and half the height of the second (pm4).
Variation
The taxon cadornae was listed as a provisional subspecies of P. savii by Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951 but following Hill, 1962 was subsequently treated as a discrete species. All specimens are referred to the nominate subspecies P. cadornae cadornae .