Eudiscoderma thongareeae
| Eudiscoderma thongareeae | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Eudiscoderma | ||||||||||||
| Soisook , Prajakjitr , Karapan , Francis & Bates , 2015 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Eudiscoderma thongareeae | ||||||||||||
| Soisook, Prajakjitr, Karapan, Francis & Bates, 2015 |
Eudiscoderma thongareeae is a species of bat from the large-leaf nosed family. It was only described in 2015. The three type specimens , the only known specimens of the species, werecaughtin a forest in the province of Narathiwat in the extreme south of Thailand. The species epithet thongareeae was given in honor of Ms. Siriporn Thongaree, who did a great job researching and protecting the wild animals of southern Thailand. The generic name Eudiscoderma indicates the discus-shaped nasal sheet of the species.
features
Eudiscoderma thongareeae is a relatively large bat with a rounded upper nostril. Species and genus are diagnosed primarily on the basis of features of the dentition , some of which the species shares with African large-leaf noses, others with Asian large-leaf noses. The skull shows a clear depression on the front of the head. The lower jaw and the ascending branch of the lower jaw are large and strong. The canines are greatly enlarged. The first upper premolar is missing, the first lower premolar is enlarged and just as large or larger than the second premolar. Eudiscoderma thongareeae has been observed catching and eating large beetles. The robustly built skull with a well-developed crest , which provides starting points for strong jaw muscles, and the robust teeth can be an indication that Eudiscoderma thongareeae is a food specialist who feeds primarily on this hard, chitin- armored prey. The penis bone has a strong shaft and two short prongs.
Since it is not possible to assign the species, whose characteristics are found in both Asian and exclusively African bat species, to an existing genus of large-leaf noses, the new genus Eudiscoderma was introduced. Comparisons of mitochondrial DNA between Eudiscoderma and the genera Megaderma and Cardioderma show a difference of about 20%.
Danger
Eudiscoderma thongareeae is only known from a single, small forest and is possibly extremely rare. With the rate of deforestation on the Thai / Malay Peninsula high, the species could be endangered.
literature
- Soisook, Pipat, Amorn Prajakjitr, Sunate Karapan, Charles M. Francis & Paul JJ Bates. 2015. A New Genus and Species of False Vampires (Chiroptera: Megadermatidae) from peninsular Thailand. Zootaxa . 3931 (4): 528-550. DOI: 10.11646 / zootaxa.3931.4.4