Bonaparte, 1837
Long-fingered bats; Bent-winged bats
These are small Vespertilionid bats. The ears are small, the tragus of each is tall, slender and slightly curved forward at the tip (Fig. 241). The tail, interfemoral membrane and wings are very long. The skull has a large elevated braincase, the anterior portion rising abruptly above facial skeleton (Fig. 242). The rostrum is slender and small, the dorsal surface with a slight median longitudinal concavity between the orbits. The palate is slightly concave both longitudinally and transversely, a foramen near its posterior border is close to the inner extremity of M3. The upper incisors are low, robust and subequal; the first (I2) is directed strongly inwards. The first upper premolar (PM2) is unusually large (Fig. 243). M3 has more than half the crown area of M2, with the metacone and three commissures well developed. The lower incisors are trifid.
Dental formula: i - 2 3 c 1 pm - 2 - 4 m 1 2 3 = 36.
1 2 3 1 - 2 3 4 1 2 3
Gopalakrishna and Chari, 1983 suggest the erection of a new family, the Miniopteridae owing to important and distinct embryological characters found in the genus; notably the nature of implantation of the blastocyst, methods of development of the amnion and structure of the chorio-allantoic placenta.
Currently, the genus is included in the subfamily Miniopterinae with ten recognised species and a geographical range that extends from much of Africa, southern Europe, Caucasus, Arabia, Iran to China and Japan; also Indian subcontinent, south-east Asia and Australia (Koopman, 1993). Two species are currently known from the Indian subcontinent:
Species of Miniopterus encountered in the Indian Subcontinent:
Miniopterus schreibersii
Miniopterus pusillus
Species identification
Jump to the Text Key of this genus Page 75: Genus Miniopterus.