Page 59 - JWP 120122

Checklist of Chiroptera at Selected Central Forest Spine (CFS) Ecological Corridors in Peninsular 51
Malaysia
Checklist of Chiroptera at Selected Central Forest Spine (CFS) Ecological Corridors in 51
Peninsular Malaysia

On the other hand, the most abundant frugivorous bat species recorded in PL1 was
Balionycteris seimundi (n=7 or 7.4% of total captured), formerly known as B.
maculata (Francis, 2019). Based on a genetic study by Khan et al. (2008), B.
maculata is now considered restricted to Borneo, whereby B. seimundi is
restricted to Peninsular Malaysia (can be found at all states). The abundance of
this species might be associated with the lowland dipterocarp forest in PL1. This
species is primarily known as forest species or tree cavity/foliage-roosting
species, found from lowland to hill dipterocarp forest and occasionally montane
forest (Kingston et al., 2009; Francis, 2019). Apart from that, this species was
most commonly found actively forages in forest understorey (Hodgkison et al.
2004; Francis, 2019).

Furthermore, PL3 recorded 92 individuals comprising 15 species from four
families (Table 2). Of these, 11 species of insectivorous bats (n=42) from three
families (i.e., Hipposideridae, Rhinolophidae, and Vespertilionidae), while four
species of frugivorous bats (n=50) from one family (i.e., Pteropodidae) were
recorded in PL3. The most abundant insectivorous bat species recorded in PL3
was Rhinolophus affinis (n=20 or 21.7% of total captured). This finding might be
associated with the lowland dipterocarp forest in PL3. This species can be found
in primary and secondary forests at all elevations (Kingston et al., 2009). R.
affinis is also known as the most common and abundant species in the understorey
of lowland tropical rainforests across Peninsular Malaysia (Lim et al., 2019).

Other than that, the most abundant frugivorous bats recorded in PL3 was
Cynopterus cf. brachyotis Forest (n=35 or 38.0% of total captured) (Table 2). This
species is the small form of C. brachyotis, while C. cf. brachyotis Sunda is the
large form; both species is distributed in Malaysia (Abdullah & Jayaraj, 2006;
Jayaraj et al., 2012; Fong et al., 2013). This finding might be associated with
sampling sites located in the lowland forest interior. C. cf. brachyotis Forest is a
dependent forest species and generally confined to the primary and matured
secondary forest from lowland to hills, whereas C. cf. brachyotis Sunda is an
open- habitat species where it mainly forages in open habitat (e.g., disturbed and
agricultural habitats) but not usually found in the interior of mature forests
(Abdullah et al., 2000; Abdullah, 2003; Campbell et al., 2004; Jayaraj et al.,
2004; Jayaraj et al., 2005; Campbell et al., 2006; Francis, 2019). C. cf.
brachyotis Forest smaller body size offers good manoeuvrability ability for this
species to forage in a cluttered habitat of closed tropical rainforest (Abdullah et
al., 2000). Apart from that, this species often roosts under large leaves of trees,
especially palms or large leaves trees such as Macaranga, and feeds mainly on
fruits, especially figs in forest understory and the canopy (Francis, 2019).