The bicolored roundleaf bat (''Hipposideros bicolor'') is a species of bat in the family

Hipposideridae The Hipposideridae are a family of bats commonly known as the Old World leaf-nosed bats. While it has often been seen as a subfamily, Hipposiderinae, of the family Rhinolophidae, it is now more generally classified as its own family.Simmons, 20 ...

found in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, and

Timor-Leste East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...

. This bat inhabits caves, rock crevices and tunnels among lowland forests. They roost in large numbers and consume mostly small winged insects. Their navigation and hunting skills come from the use of echolocation. Its leafnose is used to release ultrasonic shouts to distinguish its surroundings. Echolocation is also used to distinguish other species based on their wingbeat and size. The habitat of this bat decides the color of its fur. Bleaching fumes of a cave environment will cause an orange colored fur. Those who inhabit a well-ventilated roost will be a light brown color.

Taxonomy

It was described as a new species in 1834 by Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck. Temminck placed it in the genus '' Rhinolophus'' with a binomial of ''R. bicolor''. The bicolored leafnose bat has four subspecies: ''Hipposideros bicolor atrox, Hipposideros bicolor major, Hipposideros bicolor bicolor and Hipposideros bicolor erigens''.

Biology

West Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

, researchers have found two different groups of bicolored roundleaf bats. These seemingly identical groups are distinguished by their size and echolocation frequency. The first group has a more rounded wingtip due to its smaller weight and shorter wider wing. It also has an echolocation call between 127.0 and 134.4 kilohertz. The second group has a smaller

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

length but weighs more with larger wings. Their echolocation call ranges from 138.0 to 144.0 kilohertz. Researchers conclude that the first group's body composition may be more suited for better flight agility and hunting in cluttered spaces.

Range

The bicolored roundleaf bat is found in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

where its range includes

, the

, and

. It has been documented at elevations up to above sea level. ''Hipposideros bicolor atrox'' is documented in southern

to Sumatra. ''Hipposideros bicolor major'' located in Enggano Islands and

Nias Nias ( id, Pulau Nias, Nias language: ''Tanö Niha'') (sometimes called Little Sumatra in English) is an island located off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago () of which the island is the centre, ...

. ''Hipposideros bicolor bicolor'' inhabits in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

stretching to the Lesser Sunda Islands and

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

. ''Hipposideros bicolor erigens'' lives solely in the

Habitat

Roosting in groups of up to 150 bats, the bicolored leafnose bat must have darkness and high humidity. They are known to roost in environments that have a constant temperature several degrees cooler than the surrounding areas. Though they prefer to live in forest, they will not dwell in an area that has been disturbed or diminished by humans.

Threats and conservation

As of 2020, it is evaluated as a

least-concern species A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

by the IUCN—its lowest conservation priority. It meets the criteria for this classification because it has a wide geographic range; its range includes protected areas; and it is considered locally common. Despite its wide geographic range, the bicolored leafnose bat is extremely sensitive to habitat loss via deforestation. Deforestation is rapidly growing due to increased demand for residential development and agricultural land for oil palm. Palm oil is derived from the oil palm and is used in detergent, lipstick and margarine. Palm oil is exported primarily by

and

producing 88 percent of the world's supply. WWF has led collaboration with other large retailers of palm oil to agree to only use land that has not been subjected to deforestation.

References

External links

Sound recordings of ''Hipposideros bicolor'' on BioAcoustica
{{Taxonbar, from=Q307687 Hipposideros Bats of Southeast Asia Bats of Indonesia Bats of Malaysia Bat, Bicolored roundleaf Bat, Bicolored roundleaf Bat, Bicolored roundleaf Bat, Bicolored roundleaf Bat, Bicolored roundleaf Bat, Bicolored roundleaf Bat, Bicolored roundleaf Mammals described in 1834 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Coenraad Jacob Temminck