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Bates, P. J. J., and D. L. Harrison. 1997. BATS OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT. Harrison Zoological Museum, Sevenoaks, Kent, UK, 258 pp. ISBN 0-9517313-1-9, price (paper), L55.00.
Several years ago, Bates and colleagues published a series of companion papers (Bates et al., 1994a, 1994b, 1994c) which augmented and extended a previous survey of the bats of western India by Andre Brosset (1963). Bates and Harrison have now parlayed these efforts into a comprehensive treatise on the taxonomy, distribution, and natural history of bats across the entire Indian subcontinent. They have done a commendable job.
The geographic scope of this book encompasses India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Following a foreword by J. C. Daniels of the Bombay Natural History Society and an acknowledgments section, a short introduction explains the objectives of the book. This is followed by a well-- illustrated guide to morphological measurements and a brief synopsis of the evolution and taxonomic diversity of the order Chiroptera. The remainder of the book is devoted to accounts for 14 species within the suborder Megachiroptera (eight genera, one family) and 105 species within the suborder Microchiroptera (29 genera, seven families) that are known to occur within the subcontinent.
There are introductory sections and character matrices for each family and genus. Depending on the quantity of published information available, the individual species accounts include all or most of the following subsections: External Characters, Cranial Characters, Dentition, Karyology, Variation, Taxonomic Remarks, Distribution, Habits, Feeding, Reproduction, and Conservation Status. The species accounts are comprehensive and up-to-date. They represent a highly valuable compilation of information, much of which was gleaned from the Indian literature. The authors apparently...