(Kelaart, 1852)
Kelaart's Pipistrelle
External characters (Table 95)
This is a relatively large Pipistrellus (Pce1) with an average forearm length of 37.2 mm (33.0-42.0 mm). The ears, naked areas of the face, wings and interfemoral membrane are a uniform dark brown. There are some hairs on the interfemoral membrane, above and below, adjacent to the body, tail and femora. The dorsal pelage is variable in colour, ranging from grey-brown to chestnut, reddish or golden-brown. The ventral surface has dark hair bases and pale grey tips. Adult body weight is between 7-8 grams and with a wing span of about 250 mm (Madhavan, 1971). The baculum is relatively small; it has a slender upwardly curving shaft and a bifid tip; the basal lobes are well developed and deflected ventrally (Fig. 205).
Cranial characters
The skull (Fig. 206) is robust with an average condylo-canine length of 13.7 mm (13.1-14.3 mm). The dorsal profile is slightly convex in the frontal region, with the lambda the highest point. The supraoccipital forms the most posterior part of the skull. The mastoid flanges are well developed. The rostrum is broad with conspicuous incurving margins which produce well defined supraorbital ridges. The zygomata are delicate but widely flared outwards, especially posteriorly. Palatal length exceeds its width and the upper dentition is not convergent. The tympanic bullae are relatively small with basiocciput broad; the basisphenoid pits are shallow. The coronoid process of each half mandible is robust but short, about equal in height to the tip of the lower canine.
Dentition
- Upper toothrow length (C-M3) averages 5.5 mm (5.2-5.9 mm). The first upper incisor (I2) is bicuspidate, with the secondary cusp about three-quarters the height of the principal one. The second incisor (I3) is large, two-thirds the height of I2 (Fig. 209). The canine has a secondary cusp posteriorly. The first small premolar (PM2) is intruded in the toothrow; the crown area is equal to I2, but not visible from without (Fig. 207). The upper canine and posterior premolar (PM4) are almost in contact. The upper molars are typical of Pipistrellus .
- The lower incisors are trifid and slightly overlapping. The crown area of the second premolar (pm4) slightly exceeds that of first (pm2).
Karyology
2N= 36, FN= 50 based on specimens from Nagpur. In the chromosomal set, there are three pairs of metacentrics, four pairs of submetacentrics, one pair of subtelocentrics and 9 pairs of acrocentrics. The biarmed elements are the largest autosomes. The last pairs of autosomes are very small and nearly punctiform. The X chromosome is a medium sized metacentric, the Y chromosome a small acrocentric (Dulic, 1980).
Variation
According to Lal, 1984, all specimens from India should be referred to P. c. indicus with the taxa chrysothrix and subcanus included as synonyms; there is considerable individual variation in pelage colour, with reddish, brown and grey individuals found in the same colony, (Brosset, 1962c). Specimens from Sri Lanka are referable to P. c. ceylonicus ; Phillips, 1980 suggests that older individuals assume a more reddish or golden hue.