Son N.T., Yuzefovich A.P., Kruskop S.V. 2022. First documented bat records on the Hon Tre Island, Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam // Russian J. Theriol. Vol.21. No.2. P.115–122 [in English].
Nguyen Truong Son [truongsoniebr@gmail.com], Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources and Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam; Alexander P. Yuzefovich [yuzefovich2015elf@gmail.com], Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Leninskiye Gory, 1, bld. 12, Moscow 119234, Russia; Joint Vietnamese-Russian Tropical Research and Technological Centre, Nguyen Van Huyen, Nghia Do, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam; Sergei V. Kruskop [kruskop@zmmu.msu.ru], Zoological Museum, Moscow State University, ul. Bolshaya Nikitskaya 2, Moscow 125009, Russia; Joint Vietnamese-Russian Tropical Research and Technological Centre, Nguyen Van Huyen, Nghia Do, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam.
doi: 10.15298/ rusjtheriol.21.2.02
ABSTRACT. During the 2020–2021 trips, the bat fauna of Hon Tre Island, located in Nha Trang Bay in Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, was studied for the first time. Despite the small size of the island and the lack of fresh water sources on it, we revealed the presence of at least nine bat species from four families, which were captured and studied in the hand. The family Pteropodidae is represented by Cynopterus sphinx, an extremely ecologically flexible species, and also by Rousettus leschenaulti and Eonycteris spelaea; family Hipposideridae — by three species of Hipposideros: H. grandis, H. galeritus and H. gentilis; family Rhinolophidae — by Rhinolophus cf. pusillus and R. pearsonii; family Megadermatidae — by Megaderma spasma. Mitochondrial DNA sequences were obtained for six individuals of three species, which made it possible to confirm morphology-based identifications of the captured animals. In particular, this concerned R. pearsonii, whose specimens differed from those known from the mainland, primarily by their smaller size. The presence of a multi-species bat community on Hon Tre Island necessitates careful planning of tourism and infrastructure development, in order to minimize impact on the natural habitats of the island.
KEY WORDS: Chiroptera, new records, zoogeography, coastal islands, Khanh Hoa Province.