Annotated checklist, distribution and regional status of the bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of Kerala, South India

Understanding species diversity and species distributions across the region provides a crucial baseline for developing effective conservation plans. Several checklists of bats of Kerala have already been published in combination with other mammal groups. However distribution data has been largely unavailable. A comprehensive bat survey was conducted at 43 different locations across various protected and nonprotected areas of Kerala. Bats were monitored using harp traps (398 trap-nights), mist nets (51 trap-nights) and direct roost visits. Our sampling yielded a total of 42 species from 23 genera and seven families, of which three species (Barbastella darjelingensis, Hesperoptenus tickelli and Kerivoula hardwickii) are new records for Kerala and four Vespertilionid species belong to the genus Harpiocephalus, Kerivoula, Murina and Tylonycteris are potentially undescribed species. Previous records of 41 species were also gathered from various literature sources but six of these were not detected during our survey. After collating all the available data, here we produce the first comprehensive review on the distribution and occurrence of 48 bat species in Kerala (20 Vespertilionids, 6 Pteropodids, 6 Hipposiderids, 5 Rhinolophids, 3 Emballonurids, 3 Molossids, 2 Megadermatids, 2 Miniopterids and 1 Rhinopomatid). Regional assessment based on the occurrence data further classified bat species into rare (16 spp.), common (13 spp.), abundant (9 spp.), however the status of remaining 10 spp. remains unknown. We also present a simplified dichotomous key for the identification of bats in Kerala.