Family: Vespertilionidae
Scientific name: Pipistrellus abramus
Common name: Japanese pipistrelle
IUCN status: Least Concern (LC)
MSJ Red list status: C-2 & K for the Okinawa Prefecture population
General morphology: The fur is not dense; color varies but in general the upper surface is grayish olive, slightly frosty; undersurface is light greyish brown; wings are rather narrow (Yoshiyuki, 1989).
Diet: Feeds mainly on Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and Hemiptera (Funakoshi & Uchida, 1978; Hirai & Kimura, 2004). Diet composition varies seasonally (Funakoshi & Uchida, 1978; Hirai & Kimura, 2004).
Habitat: Roosts have been found in various narrow spaces of buildings and in the spaces of bridges (Yasui et al., 1997). A few reports are from caves and in nests of the red-rumped swallow (Hirundo daurica) (Yoshiyuki, 1989). Roosts are not changed frequently (Morii, 2001).
Echolocation calls: FM-QCF call structure; FMaxE=43.4 kHz (Hokkaido), FMaxE=42.9 kHz (Kanagawa Prefecture) (Fukui et al., 2003)
References:
Funakoshi, K., & Uchida, T. (1978). Studies on the physiological and ecological adaptation of temperate insectivorous bats: III. Annual activity of the Japanese house-dwelling bat, Pipistrellus abramus. Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 23, 95-115.
Morii, T. (1982). Seasonal changes of emergence time in the Japanese house bat, Pipistrellus abramus, from 1974 to 1980 in Kan-oji City, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. Bulletin of the Biological Society of Kagawa, 10, 97-104.
Yoshiyuki, M. (1989). A systematic study of the Japanese Chiroptera. 242pp. National Science Museum: Tokyo.
Yasui, S., Maruyama, N., & Kanzaki, N. (1997). Roost site selection and colony size of the common Japanese pipistrelle (Pipistrellus abramus) in Fuchu, Tokyo. Wildlife Conservation Japan, 2(2), 51-59.
Morii, T. (2001). Seasonal changes of emergence number, sex ratio and age composition in the same colony of Pipistrellus abramus in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. Bulletin of the Biological Society of Kagawa, 28, 37-44.
Fukui, D., Maeda, K., Sato, M., & Kawai, K. (2003). New record of the Japanese house dwelling bat, Pipistrellus abramus from Hokkaido. Mammalian Science, 43, 39-43.
Hirai, T., & Kimura, S. (2004). Diet composition of the common bat Pipistrellus abramus (Chiroptera; Vespertilionidae), revealed by fecal analysis. Japanese Journal of Ecology, 54, 159-163.
Morii, R. (2007). Relationship between monthly emergence frequencies against times and annual life cycle in Pipistrellus abramus, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. Bulletin of the Biological Society of Kagawa, 34, 107-116.