Pipistrellus tenuis

Geographic Range

Least pipistrelles ( Pipistrellus tenuis ) are found throughout south and southeast Asia, from Afghanistan to China. THey are also found in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Borneo, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, and Indonesia.

• Biogeographic Regions
• oriental oriental
  • native native

Habitat

Least Pipistrelles are found in a variety of habitats including forests, rural areas and urban areas. They inhabit secondary hill, montane or montane mossy forests in southeast Asia, in zones ranging from arid to humid. They roost in trees, leafy canopies, and in the walls or ceilings of buildings. They have been observed at elevations ranging from 800 to 1700 m above sea level.

• Habitat Regions
• temperate temperate
• tropical tropical
• terrestrial terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• forest forest
• scrub forest scrub forest

• Other Habitat Features
• urban urban
• caves

Physical Description

Pipistrellus tenuis is a very small bat , ranging in length from 69 to 77 mm in length and ranging in mass from 3.2 to 4.2 g. It has dark brown fur , transitioning to paler fur on the venter. It has a broad muzzle and the ear and tragus are relatively short when compared to other species in this genus . Sexual dimorphism has not been reported in this species.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike

Reproduction

There is no information available regarding the mating system of Pipistrellus tenuis . Two separate breeding seasons exist for this species: one which occurs during February and March, and the other which occurs during July and August. These breeding seasons generally produce between one and three offspring. A close relative of P. tenuis , Pipestrellus pipestrellus , is known to form maternity roosts, with breeding males defending territories. Courtship in P. pipistrellus includes specific flight patterns and olfactory cues, including pheromones produced by males. A trait common to bats in the family Vespertilionidae is delayed fertilization, which allows the female to postpone fertilization until well after mating, thus allowing births to be precisely timed to occur when resources are plentiful.

There is limited information available regarding the reproductive behavior of Pipistrellus tenuis . It breeds for two months at a time, twice a year from February to March and from July to August. Number of offspring per breeding cycle ranges from 1 to 3 pups, with an average of 2. The closely related Pipistrellus subflavus has a gestational period that lasts 44 days. Pipistrellus subflavus pups have an average birth weight of 1.8 g and are weaned by 4 weeks of age and become independent between 4 and 5 weeks of age. Pipistrellus subflavus reaches sexual maturity between 3 and 11 months of age.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• viviparous viviparous
• delayed fertilization delayed fertilization

There is no information available regarding parental care in Pipistrellus tenuis , however, the closely related Pipistrellus subflavus has been observed moving young between roost sites and is also known to fly with young during foraging bouts.

• Parental Investment
• female parental care female parental care
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female

Lifespan/Longevity

The lifespan of Pipistrellus tenuis has not been undocumented; however, the lifespan of Pipistrellus subflavus ranges from 4 to 8 years in the wild and Pipistrellus murrayi lives 8 years on average in the wild.

Behavior

There is little information available regarding the general behavior of Pipistrellus tenuis . Its flight motions are often described as "jerky" and have been likened to those of flying insects. Each night, P. tenuis flies a pre-established route in order to forage for insects. Like other New World bats, P. tenuis uses echolocation to find prey and is nocturnal.

• Key Behaviors
• flies
• nocturnal nocturnal
• crepuscular crepuscular
• motile motile
• sedentary sedentary
• territorial territorial
• colonial colonial

Home Range

The average home range size of Pipistrellus tenuis is unknown. However, other members of this genus demonstrate considerable variation in home range size. For example, Pipistrellus pipistrellus has an observed home range of 1,526 ha, while P. pygmaeus has an average home range size of 487 ha. Both species change roost sites on a regular basis.

Communication and Perception

There is no information available regarding communication in Pipistrellus tenuis . The closely related Pipistrellus subflavus is known to communicate with young using a variety of clicks and tones. In addition, Pipistrellus pygmaeus exhibits distress through vocal signals. Pipistrellus tenuis perceives its immediate environment via echolocation and olfactory cues. In general, bats have reduced vision.

• Communication Channels
• acoustic acoustic

• Perception Channels
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• ultrasound ultrasound
• echolocation echolocation
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

Pipistrellus tenuis is an insectivore, feeding on a wide variety of insects including coleopterans , hymenopterans , dipterans and lepidopterans . It uses echolocation to hunt its prey and sometimes is observed using its wings to bat its prey down before catching it in its mouth.

• Primary Diet
• carnivore carnivore
  • insectivore insectivore

• Animal Foods
• insects

Predation

There are known predators of Pipistrellus tenuis . In urban settings this species is sometimes viewed as a pest and may be killed by humans. Its nocturnal nature likely helps reduce risk of predation.

Ecosystem Roles

As an insectivore, Pipistrellus tenuis likely helps controls insect pest populations throughout its geographic range. Parasites of this species have not been documented.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

As an insectivore, Pipistrellus tenuis helps controls insect pest populations, which likely helps reduce insect induced crop damage and disease transmission rates from insects to humans.

• Positive Impacts
• controls pest population

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

In urban and suburban settings, Pipistrellus tenuis is known to roost in the walls and ceilings of buildings. As a result, this species can cause a great deal of damage to the buildings it roosts in.

• Negative Impacts
• household pest

Conservation Status

Pipistrellus tenuis is classified as a species of least concern on the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species. This species is locally abundant throughout its geographic range and there appear to be no major threats to its long-term persistence.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Jenna Larson (author), Michigan State University, Barbara Lundrigan (editor), Michigan State University, John Berini (editor), Animal Diversity Web Staff.

References

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Temminck, 2011. "Pipestrellus (Pipistrellus) tenuis" (On-line). Mammal species of the World. Accessed March 12, 2011 at http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?s=y&id=13802115 .

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