It is great to report on further new papers relating to the taxonomy of SE Asian bats. Congratulations to Noor Haliza Hasan and Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah on their paper on woolly bats (Kerivoula) from Malaysia. This is a particularly ‘awkward’ group and they have done us all a great service in casting new light on its taxonomy.
Noor Haliza Hasan & Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah (2011). A morphological analysis of Malaysian Kerivoula (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae). Mammal Study 36: 87-97.
Please Contact Noor Haliza Hasan for a copy nhalizahasan@gmail.com
Meanwhile, Bounsavane Douangboubpha from Lao PDR has recently published two papers on another ‘awkward’ group the leaf-nosed bats. In the first, he tackled the taxonomiy of the Hipposideros bicolor/H. pomona group in Thailand. Subsequently, he worked on the Hipposideros ater group. Outcomes included recognising the Nicobar Island population as a distinct species and describing a new species from Myanmar, H. einnaythu, which for those of you that are not so familiar with Myanmar language means the bat ‘that dwells in the home’ – reflecting its roosting preference.
Bounsavane Douangboubpha, Sara Bumrungsri, Pipat Soisook, Chutamas Satasook, Nikky M. Thomas & Paul JJ Bates (2010). A taxonomic review of the Hipposideros bicolor species complex and H. pomona (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) in Thailand. Acta Chiropterologica 12: 415-438.
Bounsavane Douangboubpha, Sara Bumrungsri, Chutamas Satasook, Pipat Soisook, Si Si Hla Bu, Bandana Aul, David L Harrison, Malcom J Pearch, Nikky M. Thomas & Paul JJ Bates (2011). A new species of small Hipposideros (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) from Myanamar and a revaluation of the taxon H. nicobarulae Miller, 1902 from the Nicobar Islands. Acta Chiropterologica 13: 67-78.
Please email bounsavanhd@yahoo.com or pjjbates2@hotmail.com for copies
Alice Hughes has just published an excellent paper on the zoogeography of bats in the Thai-Malay peninsular with particular reference to the Isthmus of Kra. Hot of the press, this is the second of a series of papers that Alice has prepared on the region following her PhD study focusing on computer mapping and predictive studies of bat distributions in SE Asia.
Alice C Hughes, Chutamas Satasook, Paul JJ bates, Sara Bumrungsri & Gareth Jones (2011). Explaining the cuases of the zooegeographic transition around the Isthmus of Kra: using bats as a case study. Journal of Biogeography doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02568.x
The paper is available on line here, but you can also contact Alice Hughes ah3881@bristol.ac.uk or Gareth Jones Gareth.Jones@bristol.ac.uk for a copy.