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Tickell’s bat, Hesperoptenus tickelli (Blyth, 1851), in Sri Lanka with new records after 58 years and roosting ecology notes

  • Tharaka Kusuminda ORCID logo EMAIL logo , G.G. Thilakawansha Chandrathilake , Pasindu D. Abegunawardhana , Sameera Abeyrathne , Vithanage T. Senthila , Chamara Amarasinghe , Amani Mannakkara and Wipula B. Yapa
Published/Copyright: January 23, 2025
Mammalia
From the journal Mammalia Volume 89 Issue 3

Abstract

Tickell’s bat (Hesperoptenus tickelli) is a medium-sized bat belonging to the family Vespertilionidae. This species was rarely recorded in recent surveys in its range. Similarly, this species has not been recorded in Sri Lanka since 1963. Further, it is assumed to roost in dense foliage of tall trees. We report three opportunistic records of this species from Sri Lanka after 58 years, along with notes on its roosting ecology. We highlight the importance of comprehensive studies on the life history of this species for better conservation and management.

Keywords: Vespertilionidae; bat conservation; distribution; foliage roost
Corresponding author: Tharaka Kusuminda, Department of Agricultural Biology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Kamburupitiya 81100, Sri Lanka; and IDEA Project , Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences , Faculty of Science , University of Colombo , Colombo , Sri Lanka, E-mail:

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Mr. Chandana Sooriyabandara, Mr. Ranjan Marasinghe, and Ms. Nishani Goonatilake of the Department of Wildlife Conservation for granting the research permit (Permit no: WL/3/2/02/16). TK thanks Ms. Lankani Somarathna, Ms. Chamalka Kothalawala, and the staff of the National Museum of Sri Lanka for their support during the examination of museum specimens. SA is grateful to Mr. Lishan Niroshana Meththananda for assistance in the field.

  1. Research ethics: Research procedures were approved by the ethical review committee of Institute of Biology, Sri Lanka (ERC IOBSL165 11 17). Department of Wildlife Conservation research permit no: WL/3/2/02/16.

  2. Informed consent: Not applicable.

  3. Author contributions: The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission. Tharaka Kusuminda, Thilakawansha Chandrathilake, Pasindu D. Abegunawardhana, Sameera Abeyrathne and Vithanage T. Senthila collected field data. Tharaka Kusuminda, Amani Mannakkara and Wipula B. Yapa performed the research. Tharaka Kusuminda, Pasindu D. Abegunawardhana and Chamara Amarasinghe analyzed the data. Tharaka Kusuminda and Pasindu D. Abegunawardhana wrote the manuscript. Thilakawansha Chandrathilake, Amani Mannakkara and Wipula B. Yapa reviewed the manuscript.

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.

  5. Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.

  6. Research funding: None declared.

  7. Data availability: Not applicable.

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Supplementary Material

This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2024-0063).

Received: 2024-05-04
Accepted: 2025-01-08
Published Online: 2025-01-23
Published in Print: 2025-05-26

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Conservation
  3. Tickell’s bat, Hesperoptenus tickelli (Blyth, 1851), in Sri Lanka with new records after 58 years and roosting ecology notes
  4. Ecology
  5. New ecological aspects of the pacarana (Dinomys branickii) in southeastern Peru
  6. Variation in mammal ecological patterns in response to seasonality in a Brazilian tropical dry forest
  7. Niche partitioning between two marsupials inhabiting the Yungas of Northwestern Argentina: overlapping diets in non-overlapping lifestyles?
  8. Characteristics of tree hollows used by Nilgiri marten Martes gwatkinsii in the Western Ghats, India
  9. How much do we know about wild canid (Carnivora: Canidae) ectoparasites in Mexico? Current state of knowledge
  10. First and new records of albinism and leucism in Jaculus orientalis and Jaculus jaculus (Rodentia, Dipodidae)
  11. Biogeography
  12. The first record of the long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Gmelin, 1770) in Lebanon
  13. First record of Andersen’s leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros gentilis, and hairy-faced myotis, Myotis annectans from Bangladesh
  14. Ethology
  15. Temperature and pups influence daytime roosting behavior of the great fruit-eating bat, Artibeus lituratus, in an urban southern Brazilian habitat
  16. Taxonomy/Phylogeny
  17. On the phylogenetic position of Rhinolophus sakejiensis (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae)
  18. New geographical records of Phyllostomidae (Chiroptera) for the Brazilian Caatinga, with taxonomic notes
  19. Complete mitogenome of Prionailurus bengalensis alleni and taxonomic revisions of leopard cat subspecies
  20. Karyotype of the lesser gymnure Hylomys maxi and comparison with its Vietnamese congeners (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Erinaceidae)
https://doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2024-0063
Keywords for this article
Vespertilionidae; bat conservation; distribution; foliage roost

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Conservation
  3. Tickell’s bat, Hesperoptenus tickelli (Blyth, 1851), in Sri Lanka with new records after 58 years and roosting ecology notes
  4. Ecology
  5. New ecological aspects of the pacarana (Dinomys branickii) in southeastern Peru
  6. Variation in mammal ecological patterns in response to seasonality in a Brazilian tropical dry forest
  7. Niche partitioning between two marsupials inhabiting the Yungas of Northwestern Argentina: overlapping diets in non-overlapping lifestyles?
  8. Characteristics of tree hollows used by Nilgiri marten Martes gwatkinsii in the Western Ghats, India
  9. How much do we know about wild canid (Carnivora: Canidae) ectoparasites in Mexico? Current state of knowledge
  10. First and new records of albinism and leucism in Jaculus orientalis and Jaculus jaculus (Rodentia, Dipodidae)
  11. Biogeography
  12. The first record of the long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Gmelin, 1770) in Lebanon
  13. First record of Andersen’s leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros gentilis, and hairy-faced myotis, Myotis annectans from Bangladesh
  14. Ethology
  15. Temperature and pups influence daytime roosting behavior of the great fruit-eating bat, Artibeus lituratus, in an urban southern Brazilian habitat
  16. Taxonomy/Phylogeny
  17. On the phylogenetic position of Rhinolophus sakejiensis (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae)
  18. New geographical records of Phyllostomidae (Chiroptera) for the Brazilian Caatinga, with taxonomic notes
  19. Complete mitogenome of Prionailurus bengalensis alleni and taxonomic revisions of leopard cat subspecies
  20. Karyotype of the lesser gymnure Hylomys maxi and comparison with its Vietnamese congeners (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Erinaceidae)
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