BEEHIVE CAVE, Maheshwaram

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A relatively large colony of apparently pious horseshoe bats (Hipposideros lankadiva Kelaart 1850) performs daily excretion rites in the cellar of an ancient temple (KAUR, H et al. 2011). SITUATION: In an unidentified location near Maheshwaram (17°16' N, 78°42' E) (note 1), which is said to have been found somewhere in and around Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (KAUR, H et al. 2011). CAVE LIFE - bats (Chiroptera): While conducting surveys to document hipposiderid bats in and around Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, we discovered a colony of large sized roundleaf bats in the cellar of an ancient temple near Maheshwaram (17°16' N, 78°42' E) on 23 March 2010. A voucher specimen was collected, identified as Hipposideros lankadiva [note 2] using the South Asian Bat Key (Srinivasulu et al. 2010) and preserved and deposited (OUNHM.CHI.6.2010) in the Natural History Museum of Osmania University, Hyderabad (KAUR, H et al. 2011).A relatively large colony of apparently pious horseshoe bats (Hipposideros lankadiva Kelaart 1850) performs daily excretion rites in the cellar of an ancient temple (KAUR, H et al. 2011). SITUATION: In an unidentified location near Maheshwaram (17°16' N, 78°42' E) (note 1), which is said to have been found somewhere in and around Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (KAUR, H et al. 2011). CAVE LIFE - bats (Chiroptera): While conducting surveys to document hipposiderid bats in and around Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, we discovered a colony of large sized roundleaf bats in the cellar of an ancient temple near Maheshwaram (17°16' N, 78°42' E) on 23 March 2010. A voucher specimen was collected, identified as Hipposideros lankadiva [note 2] using the South Asian Bat Key (Srinivasulu et al. 2010) and preserved and deposited (OUNHM.CHI.6.2010) in the Natural History Museum of Osmania University, Hyderabad (KAUR, H et al. 2011).