The Research On Hair Classification Features Of Six Bat Species In Chiroptera

Bats belong to Chiroptera, which are the second biggest groups in mammal which is20-25%of mammalias. About1000species have been reported all over the world. And there is a close relationship between them and human.Fur is composed of epidermal keratinization which has multiple functions, including protection and keeps warm. In addition, during wild work, it is often difficult to obtain individual specimens or image data and exact information. Thus, through the collection of wild animal hair, and in the laboratory on hair morphology and structure definition, is the most convenient and feasible method of the wild inspection identification of species.However, the domestic researches on hair classification features are still in the blank. So I choose this subject as a master graduate student phase of the research direction.In order to study the different bats hair characteristics, I carried out in stages the following jobs:1. From July2010to August2011, we collected six different species of bats in some counties of Hunan province and Lanzhou city, including9Hipposideros armiger specimens,12Hipposideros larvatus specimens,14Rhinolophus affinis specimens,16Hipposideros pratti specimens,1Pipistrellus abramus specimen and1Chaerephon plicata specimen. Then I used vernier caliper to measure each specimen of forearm length;2. From September2011to January2012, I made hair samples and measured the length of the specimen forearm;3. From January2012to March2012,I made the observations on hair characteristics by using the light microscope, the scale morphology on the microscopic was described; By using DLT2000microscopic imaging system, the photographs were collected; By using NCBI ImageJ software, we calculated the hair length and hair root width of each sample in pictures;SPSS17.0were used to analysis the correlation of bats’forearm length and the hair length.The results show that:The length and widthe of the hair:Hipposideros armiger and Hipposideros pratti had no significant difference on the hair length. But they are apparently longer than the hair of Hipposideros larvatus and Rhinolophus affinis (P<0.05).The hair length of Hipposideros larvatus is shortest in4species. Hipposideros armiger, Hipposideros pratti, Hipposideros larvatus and Rhinolophus affinis had significant differences on the hair root width (P<0.05). The hair root width of Hipposideros pratti is shortest in4species. The hair root width of Hipposideros armiger is longest in4species.The hair cuticle layer microstructure:there are humps on the scales in the middle part of six species’hair. The humps of Hipposideros armiger and Rhinolophus affinis are not obvious. The humps of Hipposideros larvatus and Pipistrellus abramus are horn-mouth shaped. The shape of Chaerephon plicata humps is same to sawtooth. The shape of Hipposideros pratti humps is same to ring.The hump thickness of Pipistrellus abramus is most obviously. The scales of Chaerephon plicata arranged most closely. The scales of Hipposideros armiger arranged most loose.The color of entire Chaerephon plicata hair is obviously deeper than other5species of bats. The color of scale hump is deeper than the color of surroundings.The hair classification features are significantly related with the classification of bats.In this paper, the research results can fill the domestic blank on the research of Chiroptera hair. The research method can be easily extended. The results of this paper can service the taxonomy, forensic science, bionics, wild animal protection,Chiroptera on aircraft flight safety effect, and other aspects of the study.This paper is the shortage in:1. The bat specimens type and quantity are limited;2. I did not use advanced equipment such as scanning electron microscope (sem) to research the hair fiber.The advanced research on hair classification features should focus on the supplement and completement in the following3subjects:1. Using scanning electron microscopy (sem) to research animal hair microscopic surface of the scale;2. Further study of animal hair medulla layer, such as medulla decorative pattern;3. Building more complete animal hair classification feature database, and analysising hair with the computer image processing system.