Taiwan is located off the southeastern coast of the Eurasian continent, north of the Philippines and southwest of Japan’s Ryukyu island chain. An island nation, the South China Sea sits to its southwest, the Luzon Strait to its south, the Philippine Sea to its east, and the East China Sea to its north. Taiwan’s territory is comprised of Taiwan proper and its adjacent islands. It’s total size is 36,197 km2.
Located along the Tropic of Cancer, the island’s north experiences a subtropical climate after which the climate becomes more tropical further south. Its mountainous regions, which are temperate zones, experience snowfall in the middle of winter. The whole island experiences hot, rainy summers. Though a rainy season starts around May, a typhoon season lasting from July to October brings strong winds and heavy rains, contributing to the average 2,590 mm of precipitation every year. Mountains and foothills make up 70% of Taiwan proper’s area. The island has one of the highest densities of mountains in the world, with 268 peaks over 3,000m; the highest being Yu Shan at 3,952 m. Variations in climate created by differing elevations produce opportunities for a number of dynamic ecosystems to exist.
This is a list of the bat species recorded in Taiwan. The bats of Taiwan include a total of 39 species, of which 11 are endemic, and 6 subendemic. Of these, 2 species are globally threatened. This taxonomic chceklist was edited from Illustrated field keys to the bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of Taiwan.
List of the 38 bat species in Taiwan with their endemism
Family |
Species |
Endemism |
IUCN status |
Status in Taiwan |
Pteropodidae |
Cynopterus sphinx |
|
LC |
n/a |
Pteropus dasymallus formosus |
ESS |
VU |
NCR |
|
Rousettus leschenaultii |
LC |
n/a |
||
Hipposideridae |
Coelops frithii formosanus |
ESS |
NT |
NVU |
Hipposideros armiger terasensis |
ESS |
LC |
LC |
|
Rhinolophidae |
Rhinolophus formosae |
ES |
LC |
LC |
Rhinolophus monoceros |
ES |
n/a |
LC |
|
Miniopteridae |
Miniopterus fuliginosus |
|
n/a |
LC |
Miniopterus magnater | LC | n/a | ||
Molossidae |
Tadarida insignis |
|
DD |
LC |
Vespertilionidae |
Kerivoula furva |
|
n/a |
LC |
Harpiocephalus harpia |
|
LC |
DD |
|
Harpiola isodon |
|
LC |
LC |
|
Murina bicolor |
ES |
LC |
LC |
|
Murina gracilis |
ES |
LC |
LC |
|
Murina puta |
ES |
LC |
LC |
|
Murina recondita |
ES |
LC |
LC |
|
Myotis fimbriatus taiwanensis |
ESS |
LC |
LC |
|
Myotis formosus flavus |
ESS |
NT |
NVU |
|
Myotis frater |
|
LC |
LC |
|
Myotis laniger |
|
LC |
LC |
|
Myotis pilosus |
|
VU |
n/a |
|
Myotis rufoniger |
|
LC |
LC |
|
Myotis secundus |
ES |
LC |
LC |
|
Myotis soror |
ES |
DD |
DD |
|
Submyotodon latirostris |
ES |
LC |
LC |
|
Thainycteris torquatus |
ES |
LC |
LC |
|
Barbastella darjelingensis |
LC |
LC |
||
Eptesicus pachyomus horikawai |
ESS |
LC |
LC |
|
Hypsugo pulveratus |
LC |
DD |
||
Nyctalus plancyi |
LC |
LC |
||
Pipistrellus abramus |
|
LC |
LC |
|
Pipistrellus taiwanensis |
|
n/a |
LC |
|
Pipistrellus montanus |
n/a |
LC |
||
Pipistrellus sp. |
n/a |
n/a |
||
Plecotus taivanus |
ES |
NT |
LC |
|
Scotophilus kuhlii |
LC |
LC |
||
Scotophilus heathii |
LC |
n/a |
||
Vespertilio sinensis |
LC |
NEN |
Abbreviations: ES—endemic species | ESS—endemic subspecies | DD—Data Deficient | LC—Least Concern | NT—Near Threatened
| VU—Vulnerable | NCR—Nationally Critical | NEN—Nationally Endangered | NVU—Nationally Vulnerable | n/a—not available.
Miniopterus magnater (by Heng-Chia Chang) CC BY-NC-ND
Pipistrellus abramus (by Heng-Chia Chang) CC BY-NC-ND
Pipistrellus montanus (by Heng-Chia Chang) CC BY-NC-ND