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Salim Ali's fruit bat, Latidens salimalii, is a monotypic endangered fruit bat endemic to Western Ghats (WG) with an ambiguous distribution. The distribution range, habitat suitability, and biology of this species are still uncertain. Endemic species inhabiting the high elevation of WG like L. salimalii are threatened due to climatic change and seeks urgent management interventions. Hence, we developed a habitat suitability model for L. salimalii using MaxEnt in the current climate condition and projected their distribution for three Representation Concentration Pathway (RCP 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5) climate scenarios of the 2070 time frame. The results show that 9531 km 2 of habitat in WG is suitable for L. salimalii at present, while all the future scenarios estimates propose complete loss of highly suitable habitat. The significant factors influencing the distribution of L. salimalii are the precipitation of the driest month, tree density, rain in the coldest quarter, canopy height, and altitude. The study pioneers in predicting the suitable habitat and emphasis the need to develop strategies for the long-term conservation of endangered L. salimalii in WG under global warming scenarios.

Understanding patterns of species distribution and diversity plays a vital role in biodiversity conservation. Such documentation is frequently lacking for bats, which are relatively little studied and often threatened. The Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot in peninsular India is a bat hotspot with 63 species. We conducted a comprehensive bat survey across the southern Western Ghats and used maximum entropy modeling (MaxEnt) to model the potential distribution of 37 bat species for which sufficient data were available. We generated binary maps of each species using species-specific thresholds to estimate suitable habitat areas and overlaid binary maps of species to produce bat hotspots (we use the term “bat hotspot” for regions that were suitable for more than 25 bat species). We also estimated species richness across protected area networks in the southern Western Ghats to assess the level of protection. The highest levels of species richness were found mainly along the southmost Periyar–Agastyamalai landscape. The study also identified a 1,683 km2 area of potential bat hotspot and 726 km2 (43%) of the total bat hotspots are currently within the protected area network. However, more than 50% of suitable habitats for each of the 37 species remain unprotected. Therefore, conservation decisions are needed to take into account both bat hotspots and species with restricted distributions.

Bacular studies play a significant role in the case of bats and other mammals since it is considered an important taxon-specific character, thus helping in species discrimination. Structure of the baculum (os penis) also aids in examining and understanding cryptic diversity in bats. The baculum has been used in taxonomic studies of bats but such studies for Indian bats are few and far between. It was felt necessary to put together a comprehensive document depicting the bacular morphology of bats in India so as to be helpful for future bat studies. The penises of the bats were excised, treated with KOH, and then dyed with alizarin red to extract the bacula. The extracted bacula were measured using an oculometer, photographed, and preserved in glycerol. Of the total of 47 species of bats (belonging to nine families) collected and studied during the past decade, we present the bacular morphology of 44 species from peninsular India, Andaman Islands, and Jammu and Kashmir. Bacular morphology of eight taxa, namely, Eonycteris spelaea, Rhinolophus pusillus, R. lepidus monticola, R. cognatus, Hipposideros cf. grandis, Myotis peytoni, M. horsfieldii dryas, and M. longipes are presented here for the first time from India.

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We used Maxent to model the distribution of the Nilgiri marten (Martes gwatkinsii), a cryptic semi-arboreal mammal, with climate, forest, and human disturbance as covariates. We modelled the species niche, which identified suitable habitat across a variety of land uses and protection regimes. The findings point to a species niche defined by isolated, cold, and wet areas along the Western Ghats’ montane grasslands (shola) and adjoining wet forests. A sizable portion (62 %) of the total 8922 km2 niche area is multi-use, including tea, coffee, and timber plantations. Our findings emphasise the importance of conservation in non-protected areas adjacent to reserves in order to sustain this endemic species.

The natural distribution and the species ecology of the lesser-known nocturnal endemic brown palm civet in the Western Ghats are definite. We used camera trap data from the Western Ghats to predict the suitable niche, coat colour pattern, and diel activity. The environmental variables like rainfall, elevation, isothermaility, tree density, and tree height profoundly influence the brown palm civet's habitat suitability. We determined that the most suitable habitat area in the entire Western Ghats is 21,853 km 2 , in four well-defined isolated blocks. The brown palm civet distribution is more towards the south, ranging from Kakkad to Anamalai. The distribution on the north side is in the Nilgiris, Bhadra, and the Sahyadri. The diel activity pattern indicates that the species is nocturnal, with activity peak in the early night and ending in the early morning, and is nearly identical in different landscapes. The species has a variety of coat patterns, which we believe is due to phenotypic plasticity. The species is not a true high altitude montane shola-dependent species, unlike the other endemic species of the Western Ghats. The destruction of rainforests resulting from excessive anthropogenic pressure results in habitat fragmentation, posing a significant threat to the brown palm civet habitats.

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