(Temminck, 1840)
Black Gilded Pipistrelle
External characters (Table 100)
This is a large species of Pipistrellus with an average forearm length of 42.4 mm (41.8-43.6 mm). The pelage is characteristic. The hairs are soft and long. On the dorsal surface, they are essentially black, however some of the hairs have distinctive ferruginous tips, giving an almost orange sheen to the head and back. The ventral surface is a uniform brown, paler than the back; the hair roots are slightly darker than the tips. The ears are dark brown/ black with pale anterior and posterior margins in some specimens; the tragus of each ear is broad and also has pale margins. The membranes are a uniform dark brown and essentially naked. The baculum is very small, Y-shaped with paired basal lobes and a short shaft (Fig. 205).
Cranial characters
The skull is large with an average condylo-canine length of 15.1 mm (14.6-15.6 mm). The rostrum is very broad and relatively short; it is sharply angulated inwards posterior to the lachrymal projections. Distinct supraorbital and postorbital ridges are present. The braincase is large, with a slight indication of a sagittal and lambdoid crests. In dorsal profile, there is a concavity in the supraorbital region and the lambda is slightly inferior to the most elevated part of the skull. The zygomata are broad, especially posteriorly. Palatal length exceeds the breadth. The basisphenoid pits are well developed.
Dentition
- Upper toothrow length (C-M3) averages 6.3 mm (6.0-6.5 mm). The first upper incisor (I2) is robust and bicuspidate; the second incisor (I3) is small, scarcely projecting beyond the cingulum of I2. The upper canine is robust and is without a secondary cusp; it is closely adjacent to I3 and is in contact, or nearly so, with the second upper premolar (PM4). The first upper premolar (PM2) is minute, one eighth to one quarter the crown area and height of I2; it is displaced internally and is situated in the angle between the canine and PM4.
- The first lower premolar (pm2) is situated in the toothrow and is one third the crown area of the second lower premolar (pm4).
Variation
Specimens from India and Nepal are provisionally referred to P. c. circumdatus.