Taxonomic Status of Hipposideros terasensis Kishida, 1924 from Taiwan (Chiroptera, Hipposideridae)

Abstract

As a result of comparison of external, cranial and dental measurements and some qualitative characters of the Hipposideros armiger group consisting of H. a. armiger Hodgson, 1835, H. a. terasensis Kishida, 1924 and H. turpis Bangs, 1901, I came to the conclusion that H. a. terasensis is different from H. armiger at the species level. They seem to belong to different clades. Consequently, I advocate that H. terasensis from Taiwan is not a subspecies of H. armiger, but a distinct species.