v4i1.62

Submitted date: 6 September 2011
Accepted date: 23 May 2012
Published date: 28 May 2012
Pp. 27–36.

A REVIEW OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF BATS IN SOUTHWESTERN REGION OF DECCAN, MAHARASHTRA – INDIA AND CONSERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS

Mahesh C. Gaikwad, Sujit S. Narwade*, Kamlakar M. Fartade & Vishakha S. Korad
*Corresponding author. E-mail: sujitsnarwade@gmail.com

Abstract
In present survey carried out in the South-West region of Maharashtra, India, 11 bat species were reported from the study area. The area comprised four districts of Maharashtra namely Pune, Satara, Solapur and Osmanabad. It was also found that all the bat species mentioned in this paper are much more widely distributed than was previously recorded and populations occur in areas for which only single or scattered records were previously available. Conversion of habitats of bats for various purposes by humans was found as one of the important threats to bats in region.

[b]Key words :Chiroptera, fruit bat, leaf-nosed bat, false vampire, flying fox, Pipistrelle, ecology

Section Editor: Colin Chapman