INJIKULI, Pothigai Hills (Cave near)

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A missing cave (not yet discovered) housing bats of the dawn bat species. SITUATION: At an unknown location in the southern part of the Western Ghats. VANITHARANI (2007a: 39) explains that she couldn't locate the cave roost of the bat in spite of having a few specimens caught in the mist net durring the bat survey at Injikuli area [note 1] of Pothigai hills [note 2]. Compare the –>Nagapothigai Cave Roosts. It is when we learn from VANITHARANI (2007b: 45) drawing attention to bat conservation in the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu) that we became aware of eight tribal families from Injukuli Kanikudieruppu (note 3) and commence suspecting that Injikuli (VANITHARANI 2007a) and Injukuli (VANITHARANI 2007b) is possibly one and the same. POSITION: VANITHARANI et al. (2005: 14 table) list 9 species of bats recorded at new locations in the KTMR, including at the Injukuli positions (unspecified geodetic datum) N08°37'14.5”: E77°23'48.0”: 597.4 masl (Dawn bat Eonycteris speleae) and N08°37'28.3”: E77°23'34.3”: 501.7 m asl (Schreiber's long-fingered bat Miniopterus schreibersi). CAVE LIFE: VANITHARANI (2007a: 39) expects cave roosts of bats (Chiroptera: Microchiroptera Dobson 1875: Pteropoditidae Gray 1821: Macroglossinae Gray 1866: Eonycteris Dobson 1873) of the Dawn Bat species Eonycteris speleae Dobson 1871, which, according to VANITHARANI (2007a: 39), is the only nectarivorous bat species available above 2800 m [note 4] elevation (Vanitharani 2006a).A missing cave (not yet discovered) housing bats of the dawn bat species. SITUATION: At an unknown location in the southern part of the Western Ghats. VANITHARANI (2007a: 39) explains that she couldn't locate the cave roost of the bat in spite of having a few specimens caught in the mist net durring the bat survey at Injikuli area [note 1] of Pothigai hills [note 2]. Compare the –>Nagapothigai Cave Roosts. It is when we learn from VANITHARANI (2007b: 45) drawing attention to bat conservation in the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu) that we became aware of eight tribal families from Injukuli Kanikudieruppu (note 3) and commence suspecting that Injikuli (VANITHARANI 2007a) and Injukuli (VANITHARANI 2007b) is possibly one and the same. POSITION: VANITHARANI et al. (2005: 14 table) list 9 species of bats recorded at new locations in the KTMR, including at the Injukuli positions (unspecified geodetic datum) N08°37'14.5”: E77°23'48.0”: 597.4 masl (Dawn bat Eonycteris speleae) and N08°37'28.3”: E77°23'34.3”: 501.7 m asl (Schreiber's long-fingered bat Miniopterus schreibersi). CAVE LIFE: VANITHARANI (2007a: 39) expects cave roosts of bats (Chiroptera: Microchiroptera Dobson 1875: Pteropoditidae Gray 1821: Macroglossinae Gray 1866: Eonycteris Dobson 1873) of the Dawn Bat species Eonycteris speleae Dobson 1871, which, according to VANITHARANI (2007a: 39), is the only nectarivorous bat species available above 2800 m [note 4] elevation (Vanitharani 2006a).