Abstract
The present study was conducted to explore morphometric variations of Pteropus medius (the Indian flying fox) and the roosting trees in Lower Dir, Pakistan. The bats were captured from Morus alba, Morus nigra, Brousonetia papyrifera, Pinus raxburghii, Hevea brasiliensis, Platanus orientalis, Populous nigra, Melia azedarach, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Grevillea robusta through sling shot and mess net methods. A total of 12 bats were studied for the differential morphological features based on age and sex. Male bats were recorded higher in weight than females. The variations were found in body mass (821.1±34.65gm), circumference of body with wings (25.43±0.39cm), wingspan (112.58±1.90cm), Body length (20.73±0.68cm), Snout length (3.42±0.04cm), Eye length (1.45±0.033cm), Length of ear (3.56±0.05cm), Width of ear (2.46±0.04cm), Length b/w ear (5.51±0.11cm), Circumference of neck (12.23±0.24cm), Circumference of body without wings (18.68±0.31cm), Arm wing length (23.2±1.03cm), Length of thumb (5.43±0.1cm), Length of nail (1.89±0.05cm), Hand wing length (29.1±0.51cm), Maximum width of wing (21.03±0.68cm), Length b/w tip of wing to 5th digit (29.39±0.30cm), Length b/w 5th digit to foot (22.97±1.09cm), Length b/w feet (18.31±0.74cm) and Length of foot claw (4.23±0.05cm). This study was designed for analysis of external morphological variations for P. medius (the Indian flying fox) that may help in identification of these bats and their roosting sites.
Highlights
The bats exhibit a remarkable diversity and broad geographic range (Simmons, 2005)
About 119 bat species found in the subcontinent including Pakistan (Bates and Harrison, 1997)
Farmers and biologists of Pakistan considered them as non-significant animal, less research has been conducted on bat fauna in Pakistan (Butt and Beg, 2001).This research was aimed to gather information on differential morphology and roosting trees of the Indian flying fox
Summary
Bats are found everywhere in the world except Arctic, Antarctica and some islands (Hutson et al, 2001) and comprising 1,232 species representing a quarter of the total 5,487 mammal species (Schipper et al, 2008; Simmons 2010; Kunz et al, 2011). About 119 bat species found in the subcontinent including Pakistan (Bates and Harrison, 1997). In Pakistan bats comprise about one fourth of the known mammalian species which comprise 50 species with 26 genera and 8 families (Roberts, 1997). Three genera and four species of Pteropodids bats including short nosed fruit bat (Cynopterus sphinx), the Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus), the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus), and the fulvous fruit bat (Rousettus leshenaulti) are found in Pakistan (Roberts, 1997; Mahmood-ul- Hassan et al, 2009)
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