BCI identification of bat

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It may be a shot in the dark but can anyone here ID this bat?

I’ve sent an inquiry to BCI asking if they can identify this bat and needed to provide them with a URL to these photos, so I uploaded them here. At least BCI has worked with the bats in the Philippines.

I’ve been able to key it out to suborder Microchiroptera using the taxonomic key, A Key to the Bats of the Philippine Islands by Ingle & Heaney, because of the presence of a continuous interfemoral membrane between the legs. Then I got lost because it seems to have the tail of the Emballonuridae family but the head of the Vespertilionidae family. Hopefully, these photos are enough for BCI to identify.

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Reply from BCI:

These are definitely old World Leaf-nosed bats, family Hipposideridae, genus Hipposideros. There are 8 or more species in this genus on the Philippines and I don’t know them well enough to say which one it is. Even in the hand, the small, reddish-brown species can be very tricky to identify. Hopefully knowing the family and genus may help when using the key.

On these pictures you can see the very large, rounded ears and also the upper part of the noseleaf, both of which are quite characteristic of this family of bats.

I hope this helps!

Fiona Reid
BCI naturalist and field guide artist

What I thought what was the mouth is actually the noseleaf so I made the wrong choice (noseleaf absent) in the key.

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So, the complete keying process would be as follows (using numbering in the key):

Key to Families
1. Interfemoral membrane present = Suborder Microchiroptera
2. Noseleaf present (Fig. 12)
3. Antitragus present (Fig. 3B), tail present enclosed by interfemoral membrane except extreme tip (Figs. 7D) = Family Rhinolophidae

Key to Rhinolophidae
1. Posterior noseleaf low & flattened (Fig 12B)
8. Tail present, leaflets absent, ridges on ears = Genus Hipposideros
9. ? Forearm 37-50 mm (it was a small bat)
10. Supplementary leaflets absent
12. Vertical septa present = H. obscurus, H. bicolor or H. ater
13. ? need measurements of noseleaf, hind foot & forearm (possibly the skull)
14. ? Internarial septum swollen at base = Hipposideros ater

I did notice what I think is a swollen base of the internarial septum so my best guess is Hipposideros ater or the Dusky Roundleaf Bat but full measurements should be taken to verify the identification.

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Co-author of the taxonomy key wrote:

Thanks for getting in touch and for sending the very nice bat photo along with the offer to use it.

Unfortunately, especially with insectivorous bats, it is usually impossible to verify an identification based on a photograph. There are often many very similar-looking species that differ in subtle ways. For the genus Hipposideros, the measurement of the forearm, the noseleaf structures, and the shape of the ear are often very helpful in distinguishing between similar species.

Another consideration for the Philippines is that the key that Larry Heaney and I wrote only includes the bat species that were then known from the country. More species are being discovered and described. So even if the key helps you arrive at a particular identification, it should still be confirmed (ideally by comparison with a reliably identified museum specimen).

For the meantime, I suggest you identify your photograph as Hipposideros sp. The sp. indicates a yet undetermined species within the genus Hipposideros. This way, you can attach a name to the photograph that correctly shows the level to which an identification was made. If later an identification to species level is possible, the name can be amended to include this.

Thanks again for getting in touch, and all best wishes for your caving activities.

So, the bat in the photos is properly identified as Hipposideros sp. commonly known as Roundleaf Bats.

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HI,
I don’t have the Key to bats of the Philippines, unfortunately. There should be a section for Hipposideridae, close to the Rhinolophidae. I am sure they are Hipposideros. H. ater is a good possibility (assuming they were small, these bats are not big at all) as it is widespread and often common.
All the best, Fiona

Thank you Fiona for your assistance in this keying process. The key I’m using was published in 1992 so the classification schemes may have changed since. Depending on the different schemes, I found a Subfamily Hipposiderinae in the Family Rhinolophidae and a Family Hipposideridae in the Superfamily Rhinolophidea.
The consensus is, it’s a species of Genus Hipposideros… and who knows, maaaybe a NEW one!