Chinese rufous horseshoe bat

The Chinese rufous horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus sinicus) is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Vietnam.[2]

Chinese rufous horseshoe bat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Rhinolophidae
Genus: Rhinolophus
Species:
R. sinicus
Binomial name
Rhinolophus sinicus
Subspecies

Two; see text

Chinese rufous horseshoe bat range

The species is most easily confused with R. affinis, from which it is best distinguished by its straight-sided lancet and the relatively short second phalanx of the third digit (< 66% of the length of the metacarpal; Csorba et al. 2003).

Subspecies

Rhinolophus sinicus is divided into the following two subspecies:

  • R. s. septentrionalis
  • R. s. sinicus

Description

The Chinese rufous horseshoe bat has a forearm length of 43–56 mm (1.7–2.2 in). It has an ear length of 15–20 mm (0.59–0.79 in) and a tail length of 21–30 mm (0.83–1.18 in). Overall, it is considered a medium-sized horseshoe bat. It is similar in appearance to the rufous horseshoe bat, though with longer wings. While also similar to Thomas's horseshoe bat, it is slightly larger. The fur on its back is bicolored: the basal two-thirds of individual hairs are brownish-white, while the tips of the hairs are reddish brown. Its belly fur is paler in color and is brownish-white.[3]

Biology and ecology

The Chinese rufous horseshoe bat is a social animal, forming colonies of a few individuals up to several hundred. During the reproductive season, the sexes segregate, with females forming maternity colonies.[3] Additionally this species is a food source of the parasite Sinospelaeobdella, a jawed land leech.[4] They roost in caves, often with other bat species.[5]

Conservation status

Chinese rufous horseshoe bats are a least-concern species, assessed by the Red List of Threatened Species on the basis that it has fairly wide distribution and is locally common in southeast Asia. The species is not listed in the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Wildlife in 1989.[1]

Disease

Bats of this species form the natural reservoir of severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus. An example of one particular strain present is Bat SARS-like coronavirus WIV1.[6]

References
  1. Sun, K. (2019). "Rhinolophus sinicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T41529A22005184. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T41529A22005184.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. Filatov, Dmitry A.; Mao, Xiuguang; He, Guimei; Zhang, Junpeng; Rossiter, Stephen J.; Zhang, Shuyi (2013). "Lineage Divergence and Historical Gene Flow in the Chinese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus sinicus)". PLOS ONE. 8 (2): e56786. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...856786M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0056786. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3581519. PMID 23451086.open access
  3. Smith, Andrew T.; Xie, Yan, eds. (2013). Mammals of China. Princeton University Press. pp. 231–232. ISBN 9781400846887.
  4. Huang, Taifu; Liu, Zhiwei; Gong, Xiaoyan; Wu, Tao; Liu, Hui; Deng, Jiaxin; Zhang, Youxiang; Peng, Qingzhong; Zhang, Libiao; Liu, Zhixiao (2019-02-25). "Vampire in the darkness: a new genus and species of land leech exclusively bloodsucking cave-dwelling bats from China (Hirudinda: Arhynchobdellida: Haemadipsidae)". Zootaxa. 4560 (2): zootaxa.4560.2.2. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4560.2.2. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 31716579. S2CID 92229405.
  5. "Rhinolophus sinicus". University of Bristol - School of Biological Sciences. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  6. Xing-Yi Ge; Jia-Lu Li; Xing-Lou Yang; et al. (2013). "Isolation and characterization of a bat SARS-like coronavirus that uses the ACE2 receptor". Nature. 503 (7477): 535–8. Bibcode:2013Natur.503..535G. doi:10.1038/nature12711. PMC 5389864. PMID 24172901.
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