Roost-site selection among flat-haded bats (Tylonycteris spp.)

During six years, 1962–68, the biology of the bats Tylonycteris pachypus and T. robustula has been studied at the University of malaya Field Studies Centre, Ulu Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia. Both species were often found roosting within internodes of the bamboo Gigantochloa scortechinii , entering and leaving through narrow vertical slits caused by the beetle Lasiochila goryi . In this paper the roost sites are described and evidence is presented that each species of bat actively selected roosts of a different range of dimensions. The ecological implications of the separation of the species by this factor are discussed.