An inventory of the chiropteran fauna of Himachal Pradesh, northwestern India with some ecological observations

Abstract

A chiropteran inventory of Himachal Pradesh, northwestern India is presented. Based on field observation and the study of museum collections and published literature, the occurrence of 28 species within 14 genera and five families is affirmed. The study also provides observations on ecology and biology of selected species, and ecological, zoogeographical and conservation aspects of the chiropteran fauna of Himachal Pradesh are also discussed. Considering the lack of studies on the bat fauna of Himachal Pradesh, it is expected that systematic and intensive field surveys will refine significantly our knowledge of diversity and distribution of Chiroptera in the state.

Mammalian fauna of Rajaji National Park, India: a review on ecological observations and checklist

“…Most sightings of chiropterans occurred in early summer. In a study carried out on the chiroptera fauna in Himachal Pradesh (Saikia et al 2011), 28 species, belonging to 14 genera and 5 families were recorded. Himachal Pradesh is adjacent to Uttarakhand, and shares similar topographical features in some part.…”

Biodiversity of bats in Mysore city

“…28 species of bats within 14 genera 5 families are reported from Himachal Pradesh [2], but only eleven species belonging to eight genera and six families are documented in Mysore city. P gianteus, R leschinaulti, S kuhli, P coromandra, P ceyloniucs, P tenuis and M lyra are recorded in both the regions.…”

“…They belong to order Chiroptera and are perhaps the most abundantly distributed, second largest order of class Mammalia, comprising 1232 species belonging to 18 families [2]. Order Chiroptera is divided into suborder Microchiroptera consisting of 1046 species and sub-order Megachiroptera consisting of 186 species.…”

“…117 species of bats belonging to thirty nine genera included in eight families are found in India [3]. Thirteen species belonging to four families are documented from Delhi [4].Twenty eight species are recorded from Himachal Pradesh [2]. Fifty two species belonging to twenty five genera and eight families are reported from Western Ghats [5].…”

Bat fauna of the western Himalaya of India: a zoogeographic perspective

“…Nath (1979Nath ( , 1985Nath ( , 1987 (Saikia et al, 2004(Saikia et al, , 2006. Recently, Saikia et al (2011) gave a detailed account on the Chiroptera of HP, however, such consolidated information is lacking for J&K. This article tries to collate together the available information on the same and to present it in the light of past zoogeographic history. (Mehta & Julka, 2002).…”