Temminck, 1835
Woolly Horseshoe bat
External characters (Table 36)
This is a large species of Rhinolophus with an average forearm length of 74.8 mm (70.0-80.5 mm). The noseleaf is diagnostic (Rlu1); it has pronounced basal lappets on either side of the sella. This character discriminates between this subgroup of species, luctus , beddomei and trifoliatus from all other Rhinolophids within the region. The horseshoe is very broad (15.4 mm) and has a distinct median emargination, which clearly divides it into two halves (Rlu2). The depth of the nostril pits is emphasised by the upturned edges of the internarial cup. In side view, the anterior edge of the sella is convex with the superior connecting process broadly rounded off and very reduced; the inferior extremity of the sella is deflected downwards and forwards (Rlu3). When viewed from in front, the anterior border of the sella is very narrow above but broadly rounded off below. The base of the sella has a flange on each side that forms pronounced circular basal lappets, with a diameter of about 4.5 mm, these partly obscure the upper edges of the internarial cup. The inferior surface of the sella is broad, with a width of 4.3 mm; it is parallel sided. The lancet is well developed, (the greatest height of lancet and horseshoe usually exceeds 27.0 mm); it is subacutely pointed and the tip is rounded off. The pelage is dark, long and of a noticeably woolly texture; it is usually black with paler tips. The third metacarpal of the wing is characteristically short, averaging only 86.0% (83.8-87.9%) of the length of the fourth metacarpal; it is also short in respect of its phalanges which greatly exceed it in length (134.0%, 125.1-142.5%).
Cranial characters
The skull is large with an average condylo-canine length of 28.0 mm (27.5-28.7 mm). It exceeds that of R. beddomei (Fig. 78) in size but with relatively narrower zygomata. The rostrum is very robust with well developed nasal inflations; posterior to these, there is a deep pit adjacent to the orbits. The tympanic bullae are more inflated than those of R. beddomei .
Dentition
- Upper toothrow length (C-M3) averages 12.2 mm (11.8-12.6 mm). In general, both the upper and lower toothrows greatly exceed in length those of R. beddomei . The first upper premolar (PM2) is a functional tooth that is situated in the toothrow; its anterior border fits into a concavity in the posterior base of the upper canine; this concavity is not present in R. beddomei (Fig. 79) (Topal and Csorba, 1992).
- Both the lower canine and the third lower premolar (pm4) have distinctly longer antero-posterior diameters than those of R. beddomei . The second lower premolar (pm3) is slightly extruded from the toothrow. The first (pm2) and third (pm4) lower premolars are not in contact.
Karyotype
2n= 32, FN= 60: based on a single male specimen from Karnataka. There are 15 pairs of autosomes, with ten pairs of metacentric and 5 pairs of submetacentric chromosomes. The X chromosome is a medium sized metacentric and the Y chromosome the smallest telocentric (Naidu and Gururaj, 1984).
Variation
Specimens from the Indian subcontinent are referred to R. luctus perniger .