Scotonycteris occidentalis, Hayman, 1947

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 16-162 : 81

33.

Hayman’s Fruit Bat

Scotonycteris occidentalis

French: Scotonyctére de Hayman / German: Hayman-Harlekinflughund / Spanish: Scotonicterio de Hayman

Other common names: Hayman's Teardrop Fruit Bat

Taxonomy. Scotonycteris zenkeri occidentalis Hayman, 1947 ,

Oda, Oda Province, Ghana.

Scotonycteris occidentalis is very similar to and originally described as a subspecies of S. zenkeri but recently elevated to a distinct species based on analyses of cytochrome-b and nDNA sequences. Monotypic.

Distribution. Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Ghana.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 65-85 mm (tailless), ear 12-17 mm, hindfoot 11- 14 mm, forearm 47-55 mm (on average females slightly longer); weight 16-24 g. Hayman’s Fruit Bat has white face markings on forehead and posterior corners of eyes; partially pale or white lips, especially around corners; short and slender muzzle; large and dark brown eyes; naked ears with rounded tip, dark brown with lighter base, no basal ear patches; and moderately expansible lips. There are no epaulettes on adult males; dorsum is generally medium rusty brown to sepia-brown and speckled; hairs have dark brown basal one-third, pale gray middles, and rusty brown tips; and pelage 1s dense, soft, woolly, and mid-dorsally 9-10 mm long. Central lower chest and belly are whitish to pale gray, sharply contrasting medium to dark brown flanks; pelage of underparts is shorter and sparser than dorsum, with stiff hairs on chest and belly. Wings have claw on second digit; membranes from sides of body are olive-brown to dark chocolate-brown and reticulated, attaching to first toes; finger joints are not yellowish; and calcar is short. Skull is short and delicate, and forehead region is almost straight; rostrum is relatively short; braincase is rounded; zygomatic width is relatively small, with relatively lightly built arches; palate is strongly arched; there are fourthick, smooth palatal ridges, followed by 6-9 very thin, serrated, irregular ridges; ridges 1-3 are not divided, and ridge 4 occasionally divided in middle; bony palate extends clearly beyond posterior teeth; and post-dental palate has convex lateral margins. Teeth are not as heavy as in Zenker’s Fruit Bat (S. zenkeri ); upper incisors are relatively short and hardly curved, with blurred inner groove and without secondary cusps or serrated inner edges; C' is long and recurved; premolars and molars are rounded, almost oval in transverse section, with relatively weak cusps; and M' is positioned relatively further backward, probably related to larger teeth measurements.

Habitat. Primary, closed forests and their edges, large areas of secondary vegetation, and cultivated land from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 530 m.

Food and Feeding. In Tai National Park ( Ivory Coast), Hayman’s Fruit Bat seems to forage near the ground and in the canopy. At Mount Nimba ( Liberia), Solanum torvum and S. enianthum (both Solanaceae ) formed major parts of diets in July-September. In captivity, individuals had high foraging efficiency and spent only 2-2-5 hours/night feeding, consuming the equivalent of their body weight; mean passage rate was 24 minutes.

Breeding. Female Hayman’s Fruit Bats give birth to one young and are probably seasonally bimodal monoestrous, with pregnancies inJanuary-February andJuly-November and lactating females in February—-April (onset of wet season) and October—December (end of wet season). One pregnant female was found in August on Mount Nimba ( Liberia).

Activity patterns. Frequencies of captured Hayman’s Fruit Bats had two distinct activity peaks: 21:00-23:00 h and 02:00-04:30 h.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Hayman’s Fruit Batis likely a yearround resident. In the Tai National Park, individuals were frequently recaptured during a period of six months to two years very close (less than 400 m) to the location where they were originally captured, suggesting that home ranges are very small and site fidelity is very high.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. Hayman'’s Fruit Bat was included under Zenker’s Fruit Bat (S. zenkeri ), which was classified as Least Concern. Likely this category also fits Hayman'’s Fruit Bat, but it requires specific assessment.

Bibliography. Bergmans (1979a, 1991), Bergmans, Fahr et al. (2017), Fahr (2013c¢), Hassanin et al. (2015), Hayman (1947a), Wolton et al. (1982).

Figures

32. Zenker’s Fruit Bat (Scotonycteris zenkeri), 33. Hayman’s Fruit Bat (Scotonycteris occidentalis), 34. Bergmans’s Fruit Bat (Scotonycteris bergmansi), 35. Short-palated Fruit Bat (Casinycteris argynnas), 36. Pohle’s Fruit Bat (Casinycteris ophiodon), 37. Campo-Ma’an Fruit Bat (Casinycteris campomaanensis), 38. Lesser Dawn Bat (Eonycteris spelaea), 39. Greater Dawn Bat (Eonycteris major), 40. Philippine Dawn Bat (Eonycteris robusta), 41. Geoffroy’s Rousette (Rousettus amplexicaudatus), 42. Bare-backed Rousette (Rousettus spinalatus), 43. Leschenault’s Rousette (Rousettus leschenaultin), 44. Linduan Rousette (Rousettus linduensis), 45. Sulawesi Rousette (Rousettus celebensis), 46. Egyptian Rousette (Rousettus aegyptiacus), 47. Malagasy Rousette (Rousettus madagascariensis), 48. Comoro Rousette (Rousettus obliviosus), 49. Long-haired Fruit Bat (Stenonycteris lanosus)

Distribution. Guinea , Liberia , Ivory Coast , and Ghana .