(Schreber, 1774)
Noctule
External characters (Table 103)
This is a robust Vespertilionid with an average forearm length of 53.5 mm (50.9-57.8 mm). The tail is relatively short with the tip of the final vertebrae protruding some 2-3 mm from the membrane. The calcar is strongly developed. The muzzle is broad with well marked glandular swellings above the upper lip (Nno2). In adults, there is a buccal pad, comprised of an oval yellowish swelling, on the posterior aspect of the mouth. The ears are short, the tragus of each is club-shaped and expanded distally; the antitragus is low (Fig. 224). The feet are large, more than half as long as the tibiae. The wings are long, narrow, black, leathery and opaque. The third and fourth metacarpals greatly exceed the fifth in length. The pelage is short, dense, fine and silky. On the dorsal surface, the colour varies between individuals; some are cinnamon brown others darker (Nno4), all have a marked gloss in reflected light. The ventral surface is similar to the back, although usually a little lighter and duller. In contrast to N. leisleri , the hairs are unicolored, above and below, with the bases not distinctly darker (Nno3). The pelage does not extend on to the wing membranes dorsally; it just spreads on to the interfemoral membrane above and below. The ventral surfaces of the wing membranes are thickly furred as far laterally as a line joining the elbows to the knees. The penis is distinctly enlarged. The baculum has a long narrow shaft, a small bifid tip and a bilobate base (Fig. 225).
Cranial characters
The skull (BW26) is robust with an average condylo-canine length of 17.9 mm (17.1-18.6 mm). The rostrum is broad and essentially square in shape; the lachrymal projections are prominent and angular, almost as wide as the braincase. The nasal aperture is unusually large; its posterior extremity attains a level half way between the incisors and the interorbital constriction. The zygomata are very slender and widely flared. The braincase is broad and rather low, with prominent postero-lateral flanges in the mastoid region. The sagittal crest is scarcely evident; in contrast the lambdoid crests are well developed. The dorsal profile slopes upwards over the nasal aperture; it is then flat and almost straight until it reaches the acutely elevated lambda. The palate is notable for its large anterior emargination, which is wide and deep, extending backwards to the level of the middle of the large upper premolar (pm4). Posteriorly a very well developed triangular median palatal spine makes the anterior border of the mesopterygoid space deeply double emarginate. The mandible is robust, its deep symphysis and prominent submental protrusion contrasting with the shallow horizontal ramus behind the toothrow.
Dentition
- The dentition (Fig. 226, Fig. 227) is moderately heavy, with an average upper toothrow length (C-M3) of 7.3 mm (7.1-7.7 mm). The first incisor (I2) is tall and narrow, inwardly sloping and with a distinct cingulum and secondary cusp at three-quarters the height of its shaft. The second (I3) is broader than the first; its postero-lateral crown is deeply concave; its principal cusp does not quite attain the height of the secondary cusp of I2; it has a distinct posterior cingular cusp. The upper canine is powerful, its shaft is triangular in section, its cingulum without definite cusps. The first upper premolar (PM2) is very small and crowded between the canine and the second premolar (PM4); it has a distinct conical cusp and a large cingulum. The second premolar (PM4) attains more than half the height of the canine; its posterior cingulum is abruptly emarginated in its middle. The cusps of the upper molars are low; M1 is subequal to M2 in crown area; M3 is more than half the crown area of M2, it has three well developed commissures but lacks any hypocones.
- The three pairs of lower incisors are trifid and overlapping. The lower canine has a well marked secondary cusp antero-medially at rather more than half the height of the shaft and also a distinct postero-internal cingular cusp. The lower premolars are closely crowded together, the crown area of the first (pm2) is rather less than the second (pm4). m3 is complete, its crown area is about two-thirds to three-quarters that of m2; its posterior crown is not enlarged.
Variation
Specimens from the Indian subcontinent are referred to N. noctula labiata , except for those from Nagaland and Northern Myanmar which are notably darker and appear most similar to N. n. plancyi from China. For further details see Corbet and Hill, 1992.