The Status of Nepal's Mammals: The National Red List Series - IUCN

223
187) Scotophilus heathii (Horsfield, 1831)
Common Names
Greater Asiatic Yellow Bat (English); Thulo Asiali Pitta
Chamero (Nepali)
Synonyms
Nycticejus heathii, Scotophilus heathi (Horsfield,
1831); Scotophilus heathi ssp. Belangeri, Vespertilio
belangeri (Geoffroy, 1834); Nycticejus luteus (Blyth,
1851); Scotophilus flaveolous (Horsfield, 1851)
Species Description
Pelage fine and short, longer on the nape and
throat. The head and back have pale buff-brown
hair roots and darker olive-grey-brown tips. The
nape is paler. The throat, chest and belly are pale
yellow-buff throughout. Long tail. Muzzle is broad
and blunt, swollen on the sides, dark in colour and
mostly naked. The nostrils are simple in form, round
and slightly outward facing. The tragus is half the
height of the pinna and crescent shaped. The feet
are about half the length of the tibiae. Baculum is
small, bluntly triangular and very narrow in lateral
view.
Species Ecology
Greater Asiatic Yellow Bat is found in a variety of
habitat types, including urban areas utilising attics,
roofs and pillar spaces in wooden and galvanized
steel. It roosts in crevices and cracks in old buildings,
among the leaves and crowns of palms, in hollows
of trees and among leaves of banana, either singly
or in colonies of up to 50 individuals.
After a gestation period of 115 days, one or two
young are born.
Conservation Status
Global: Least Concern
National: Least Concern
Rationale for assessment: This species is considered
Least Concern in view of its wide distribution and
large population, the fact it is facing no serious
threats, that it occurs in a number of protected
areas and because it is unlikely to be declining fast
enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened
category.
Legal Status
National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029
(1973). This species occurs within protected areas.
National Population Size
There is no information on the population size
of this species in Nepal, however it is considered
widespread and common in occurrence.
National Distribution
This species occurs in the Terai region including
Bardia and Chitwan National Parks, Koshi Tappu
Wildlife Reserve, and districts of Banke, Bhojpur,
Dang, Jhapa (Taaghandubba VDC), Morang (Keroun
VDC), Parsa (Birgunj-Raxaul) and Sunsari (Inaruwa).
There has recently been a possible observation
of this species in Pokhara, but this needs further
verification.
Distribution outside Nepal
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India,
Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines,
Sri Lanka, Thailand, Viet Nam.
Main Threats
• Habitat loss.