The Khajuria's leaf-nosed bat, also known as Durga Das's leaf-nosed bat (''Hipposideros durgadasi''), is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to India. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is caves. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Taxonomy

The bat was formerly considered a subspecies of '' H. cineraceus'' by Blyth in 1853, but is now commonly considered a distinct species. The species was first recognized as a separate species by Topál in 1975. It belongs to the bicolor species group. The holotype was collected from the

Jabalpur district Jabalpur district is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The city of Jabalpur is the administrative headquarters of the district. The area of the district is 5,198 km² with population of 2,463,289 (2011 census). As of 201 ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

in 1970.

Description

The fur is soft and brown to reddish-brown on the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

surface and whitish on the

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek language, Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. Th ...

surface. The bat, like other species in the bicolor group, lacks supplementary leaflets. The anterior leaf possesses a median emargination and is covered everywhere with short, stiff black hair. The internarial septum is well-developed and has a short base and a bulbous apex. The nostrils are oval in shape and they possess narial lappets on the outer margin. The tail of the bat projects beyond the interfemoral membrane, and the baculum is 1.3mm long, with a C- shape. The presence of a well-developed internarial septum of peculiar shape (with a short base and a bulbous apex), the fact that the tail projects beyond the interfemoral membrane, and the conspicuous C-shape of the baculum are some of the characters of ''H. durgadasi'' which render this species distinct from its sister species.

Biology

Diet

The bat feeds on beetles, crickets, and other small insects.

Echolocation

The bat echolocates at a frequency of 168.4–175.7 kHz. This is a much higher frequency than ''H.'' ''cineraceus,'' despite the bat being larger than the latter species.

Habitat and distribution

The bat is endemic to India and known from the villages of Katangi, Katanga and Richhai in the district of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh and the villages of Hanumanahalli and Therahalli in the

Kolar Kolar or Kolara is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar district. The city is known for its milk production and gold mines. It is also known for Someshwara temple and Kolaramma temple. History The Weste ...

district of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. In 1998, a team from the Zoological Survey of India also found 9 individuals in a roost site in Loyudhan Falls in the

Mirzapur Mirzapur () is a city in Uttar Pradesh, India, 827 km from Delhi and 733 km from Kolkata, almost 91 km from Prayagraj (formally known as Allahabad) and 61 km from Varanasi. It is known for its carpets and brassware industries, and the folk ...

district of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. However, specimens of ''H. durgadasi'' have not been spotted in the original type locality for almost 30 years. The bat's known range extends over 114,335 km², however, the bat only occupies around 2,000 km² of that. It inhabits areas from 347 to 900 m above sea level. The bat roosts in colonies of several individuals in cave systems and is also found roosting below large granite boulders and in caves. It has been observed roosting with other species of bat, but has also been found to roost purely with members of its own species in a cave. The bat mainly forages in dry tropical deciduous forest and tropical thorn forest.

Conservation

The bat is listed as vulnerable by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

because of its limited area of occupancy, its scattered and limited population, the continuing decrease in its population, and continuing degradation of its habitat. The main threat to the bat is that of habitat loss caused by stone

quarrying A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...

operations. The roosting caves in the Kolar district are especially threatened due to illegal granite mining, which occurs only a couple hundred feet away from the bat's roosts. The bat may also face threats from general roost disturbance. The bat is not protected by any legal bill or agreement, and the habitat of the bat does not overlap with any protected areas. However, further studies are need to ascertain the true range of this species, as some populations may be confused with populations of ''H. cineraceus'', ''H. ater'' and ''ater'' like taxa.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q308486 Mammals of India Hipposideros Mammals described in 1970 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Bats of Asia