Abstract
AbstractWe quantified postnatal changes in body mass, length of forearm, length of total gap of the fourth metacarpal-phalangeal joint and changes in wing morphology, including the wingspan, wing area, handwing length, handwing area, armwing length, armwing area, aspect ratio and wing loading inRhinolophus euryalein a maternity roost in Kerend cave, western Iran. Mean body mass of pups increased linearly until 23 days, when they achieved 74.29% of the mean mass of adult females (11.28±0.74 g, n=12). Rates of body mass gain and forearm growth during the early stage of postnatal growth were 0.36 g/day and 1.41 mm/day, respectively. Length of epiphyseal gap increased during the first 3 weeks and subsequently followed by a linear decrease until day 70 when it closed. Wing characteristics increased linearly until the age of the first flight, after which growth rates significantly declined (all p<0.05). Wing loading decreased linearly (−0.09 Nm−2/day) until 36 days of age and thereafter increased to a maximum of 6.56±0.30 Nm−2at 80 days of age. We compare our results with data obtained from close-related bat species, particularlyRhinolophus mehelyipreviously studied in a nearby area.
Published Version
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