*2.1.1. The Indian Flying Fox Pteropus giganteus (Brünnich 1782)*

The genus *Pteropus* Brisson, 1962, has 65 species and consists of medium to large fruit bats [14]. It is distributed from Mafia and Pemba Islands (off the Tanzania), Madagascar, the Islands of the Indian Ocean, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Australia [13]. Of the 65, five species of the flying foxes are reported from the Indian subcontinent which include the Indian flying fox *P. g. giganteus* (Brünnich, 1782), *P. g. ariel* (Allen, 1908), *P. g. leucocephalus* Hodgson, 1835, the large flying fox *P. vampyrus* (Linnaeus, 1758), the Nicobar flying fox *P. faunulus* (Miller, 1902), the Island flying fox *P. hypomelanus* (Temminck, 1853), *P. h. satyrus* (K.Andersen, 1908), and the Blyth's flying fox *P. melanotus melanotus* (Blyth, 1863) and *P. m. tytleri* (Dobson, 1874) [13]. The status and geographical limits of this taxon are still uncertain [13]. *Pteropus giganteus* is included in Appendix II in IUCN SSC Action Plan (1992)-Not Threatened and is Lower Risk-IUCN 2003 [16, 22].

captured. Initially, this skeleton was also thought to be of a *Rousettus* bat, but the dental formula and cranio-morphological measurements confirmed it to be the greater short-nosed bat.

Bats in Northern Mountain Region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

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The genus *Rousettus* Gray, 1821, includes medium-sized fruit bats that are distributed from sub-Saharan Africa, Arabia and Madagascar to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia [13]. Of the 10 species belonging to this genus, two are reported from the Indian subcontinent which include the fulvous fruit bat *R. leschenaultii* (Desmarest, 1820) and *R. l. leschenaultii* (Desmarest, 1820) and the Egyptian fruit bat *R. aegyptiacus* (E. Geoffroy, 1810) and *R. a. arabicus* (Anderson and de Winton, 1902), [13, 28]. Both are seasonally migratory and colonize Himalayan valleys in summer in the fruit growing districts up to 1200 mm (4000 ft.) elevation [2]. *Rousettus leschenaultii* is included in Appendix II in IUCN SSC Action Plan (1992)-Not Threatened, Lower

It is a highly gregarious species and colonies vaulted roves, natural rock caves and open wells. These roosts were in the more wooded regions in the Himalayan foothill zone and adjacent plains. Being partly migratory, the fulvous fruit bat is mainly a summer visitor to Pakistan with the exception of known Lahore and Malir colonies. It has been recorded near Muzaffarabad in the Jhelum valley of Azad Kashmir, Malakand, the Vale of Peshawar, Sialkot, Lahore, and Karachi [2, 8, 29]. The population of this bat does not seem large enough to have a much effect on the fruit industry in such regions of Peshawar and Mardan. Mirza discovered a colony numbering several 1000 in a rock cave at 1060 m elevation in the Malakand. This was only a

A total of 22 specimens of *R. leschenaulti* were captured from Malakand division. Of these 22, seven were captured from Tura Gata (N34° 26.818′ E71° 48.973′), five from Cupni (N34° 27.691′ E71° 48.220′), seven from Brah (N34° 29.915′ E71° 46.822′), and 4 from Daim (N34° 36.647′ E71° 47.704′).

Two species of this family were recorded from Malakand division. These included the greater mouse-tailed bat *Rhinopoma microphyllum* Brünnich, 1782, and the lesser mouse-tailed bat *Rhinopoma hardwickii* Gray, 1831. Although both these species have a small dermal ridge on their muzzle, they are distinguishable based on forearm length relative to their tail length. Forearm in *R. microphyllum* is longer than *R. hardwickii*, but tail in *R. microphyllum* is generally smaller than

The genus *Rhinopoma* (E. Geoffroy, 1818) has four species worldwide and three of them occur in the Indian subcontinent which include the lesser mouse-tailed bat *R. hardwickii* Gray, 1831, the greater mouse-tailed bat *R. microphyllum* (Brünnich, 1782), and the small mouse-tailed bat *R. muscatellum* Thomas, 1903 [14]. The greater mouse-tailed bat is distributed from Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sumatra, and Cameroon to Egypt [14]. The species is relatively abundant in the Indian subcontinent with one endemic subspecies (*R. m. kinneari*) and is Least Concerned (South Asian Chiroptera C.A.M.P. Report, 2002; [16, 17].

the forearm as compared to *R. hardwickii* which have a longer tail than their forearm.

*2.2.1. Greater mouse-tailed bat Rhinopoma microphyllum (Brünnich, 1782)*

summer colony [29] which corroborates their seasonally migratory movements.

*2.1.3. The fulvous fruit bat Rousettus leschenaultii (Desmarest, 1820)*

Risk-IUCN 2003 and is Least Concerned-C.A.M.P. 2003 [16, 22].

**2.2. Family Rhinopomatidae**

In Pakistan, this species has been reported from Rawal Lake, Saidpur and the Margalla Hills in Islamabad, Sialkot, Lahore, Changa Manga and Renala Khurd in Punjab, and from Jacobabad, Shahpur and Clifton Railway Bridge in Karachi [2, 13, 23]. It has recently been reported from Peshawar and Charsadda districts [20]. The species is widely distributed across India, tMaldives, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka [13].

More than 300 bats were recorded roosting in Jrandy (N34° 24.808′ E71° 48.202′) tehsil Dargai in Malakand district. A single roost of the Indian flying fox was located at Agritech Limited Hazara Phosphate Fertilizer Plant (N33° 58 21.30′ and E72° 53 46.04′), Hattar Road, Haripur, during present survey, i.e., May–August 2014. Fifty specimens of the Indian flying fox (*Pteropus giganteus*) were collected from this roost. Ten of them were males while the remaining were females.

### *2.1.2. The greater short-nosed fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx (Vahl, 1797)*

The genus *Cynopterus* F. Cuvier, 1824, has seven species [14]. It consists of those species which possess having shorter and broader muzzle with a deep margination between the nostrils. It is distributed from India to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines [13, 24]. Of the 7 species, two species of the short-nosed fruit bats are reported from the Indian subcontinent which include the short-nosed fruit bats *C. sphinx* (Vahl, 1797) and the lesser dog-faced fruit bat *C. brachyotis* (Müller, 1838) [13]. *Cynopterus sphinx* is included in Appendix II in IUCN SSC Action Plan (1992)-Not Threatened, Lower Risk-IUCN 2003 and is Least Concerned-CAMP 2003; CAMP 2002 [15–17, 22].

Typically, this is an Oriental faunal zone species and is confined to warmer sub-tropical areas where there are large numbers of flowering and fruiting trees. This short-nosed fruit bat has been reported from Karachi and Malir by Eates and Murray [23, 25]. No specimen has been collected either by the Zoological Survey of Pakistan or by the Bombay Natural History Society during its mammal survey of Southern Sindh. According to farmers in the Malir area, a small fruit bat does occur which attacks the "chiku" fruit (*Achras sapota*) as well as the custard apple (*Annona squamosa*) hovering near the ground and it seems probable that this is *Cynopterus*. With the spread of banana cultivation in recent decades up to Hyderabad, it is however, likely that this bat is followed as far north as that city [2]. Colonies of up to 25 individuals have been recorded in India by Vasishta and Badwaik [26]. It has been suggested that this species may be beneficial as an agent in seed dispersal (feeding on ripe dates and dropping the pits some distance from the food tree) [27], and in pollinating flowers which produce nectar at night. It is probably not numerous enough in Pakistan to do any considerable damage to the fruit crops.

A skeleton of the greater short-nosed fruit bat was collected from the floor of "Kashmir Smasta" (N34° 25.780′ E72° 13.727′), a cave from which 22 *Rousettus leschenaulti* were also captured. Initially, this skeleton was also thought to be of a *Rousettus* bat, but the dental formula and cranio-morphological measurements confirmed it to be the greater short-nosed bat.
