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

Abstract

A zoogeographic analysis of the chiropteran fauna of western Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh (HP) and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) is presented. Based on field surveys, study of museum specimens and published literature, 44 species of bats in 20 genera have been reported from the study area. By virtue of its transitional position between the Oriental and Palearctic biogeographic realms, the chiropteran fauna of western Himalaya exhibit an intermixing of elements from both the realms. At the species level, Oriental elements (25 species) dominate Palearctic (17 species) and Ethiopian (1 species) components, while the zoogeographic affinity of one species, Miniopterus schreibersii, is indeterminate. Some zoogeographic aspects influencing the present faunal composition of the region are also discussed. Considering the lack of studies on bat fauna in this part of the Himalaya, it is expected that intensive studies will shed new light into the zoogeography of these lesser known mammals.