Macronycteris vittatus (Peters, 1852)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Hipposideridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 227-258 : 233

17.

Striped Leaf-nosed Bat

Macronycteris vittatus

French: Phyllorhine rayée / German: Gestreifte Rundblattnase / Spanish: Macronicterio de rayas

Taxonomy. Phyllorrhina vittata Peters, 1852 ,

Ibo Island, Cap Delgado Province, Mozambique.

Macronycteris vittatus was previously considered conspecific with M. gigas and M. commersonii (under the latter name), and this has created much confusion in the records from old literature. It includes tnarungenris as a synonym. It is not clear whether there are any subspecies within this taxon as it is currently understood. Monotypic.

Distribution. Widespread in the savanna regions of Africa, patchily N of the equator from Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya; S of the equator recorded from SE DR Congo, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and extreme NE South Africa; also in Zanzibar Archipelago (Pemba, Unguja, and Mafia Is).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 97-122 mm, tail 22-39 mm, ear 23-35 mm, hindfoot 17-25 mm, forearm 84-106 mm; weight 51-180 g. Males are larger than females with latter being a richer reddish brown. The Striped Leaf-nosed Bat has a distinctive noseleaf that is divided into four cells on its posterior margin with three lateral leaflets. Pelage is dense and short, pale brown to reddish brown dorsally with patches of frosting particularly on head and nape. Fur is somewhat paler ventrally with frosting. Flanks and armpits are white, and there is dark band across shoulders. Ears are long and narrow. A frontal sac is present in both sexes. This species is difficult to distinguish from the Giant Leaf-nosed Bat ( M. gigas ), but is slightly smaller and paler. Karyotype is 2n = 52 ( South Africa).

Habitat. Wooded savanna and coastal forest, but may extend into drier savannas along rivers.

Food and Feeding. The Striped Leaf-nosed Bat is insectivorous, feeding predominantly on large beetles (Coleoptera), which it captures by sallying out from a perch; the bat then returns to its perch, where prey is consumed. Perches are in tall trees and typically C. 6 m aboveground. The bat scans through an arc of 180° and flies out to intercept prey passing within 10 m. Bats appear to get most of their foraging done within the first hour after sunset. They accumulate large reserves offat during the wet season.

Breeding. A single young is bom during a restricted breeding season, which varies geographically. For 4-5 months leading up to the mating season males aggressively defend territories, with many males being wounded during these conflicts. Territorial behavior ends after the mating season. In Zimbabwe, mating takes place in June-July, during the dry season, and births occur in October-November, at the beginning of the rains. In Kenya, mating takes place inJuly-August and young are bom during the wet season in March-April. Females lactate for at least 13 weeks, and young can fly short distances at about two weeks of age. Females form maternity roosts after mating and while suckling their young.

Activity patterns. The Striped Leaf-nosed Bat roosts predominantly in caves, but also in tall trees, usually in forested areas. During the cool dry season, it may remain inactive (but not torpid) at its roost for several days presumably taking advantage of accumulated fat reserves. Echolocation call includes a F component at c.62-66 kHz.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Some populations are migratory, for example in Kenya where they migrate between coastal areas and inland sites to take advantage of differences in rainfall (and presumably insect food supply). Individuals apparently forage singly, flying relatively short distances between roosting and foraging sites. Striped Leaf-nosed Bats typically roost in colonies of a few hundred individuals, but some roosts comprise tens of thousands.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCNRed List (as Hipposideros vittatus ) due to the fact that a large proportion of the global population roosts as large colonies in just a handful of caves, where this species is disturbed and hunted for food.

Bibliography. Aggundey & Schütter (1984), Aldridge & Rautenbach (1987), Bernard & Cumming (1997), Churchill eta/. (1997), Cockle eta/. (1998), Cooper-Bohannon eta/. (2016), Cotterill & Fergusson (1999), Decher eta/. (2010), ahr & Kalko (2011), Fenton (1985b), Fenton & Bell (1981), Foley, Goodman eta/. (2017), Foley, Thong Vu Dinh eta/. (2015), Goodman, Schoeman eta/. (2016), Hill (1963a), McWilliam (1982), Mickleburgh, Hutson, Bergmans & Cotterill (2008c), Monadjem, Richards,Taylor, Denys eta/. (2013), Monadjem, Schoeman eta/. (2010), Monadjem, Taylor eta/. (2010), Patterson & Webala (2012), Pye (1972), Rautenbach eta/. (1993), Shapiro eta/. (2016), Skinner & Chimimba (2005), Smithers (1971), Vaughan (1977), Whitaker & Black (1976).

Figures

1. Arabian Trident Leaf-nosed Bat (Asellia arabica), 2. Somalian Trident Leaf-nosed Bat (Asellia italosomalica), 3. Patrizi’s Trident Leaf-nosed Bat (Asellia patrizii), 4. Geoffroy’s Trident Leaf-nosed Bat (Asellia tridens), 5. Greater Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina camerunensis), 6. Telefomin Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina corynophyllus), 7. Cyclops Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina cyclops), 8. Hill’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina edwardshilli), 9. Fly River Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina muscinus), 10. Semon’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina semoni), 11. Northern Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina stenotis), 12. Wollaston’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Doryrhina wollastoni), 13. Commerson’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Macronycteris commersonii), 14. Madagascar Cryptic Leaf-nosed Bat (Macronycteris cryptovalorona), 15. Giant Leaf-nosed Bat Macronycteris gigas rench: (Phyllorhine géante), 16. Sao Tome Leaf-nosed Bat Macronycteris thomensis rench: Phyllorhine de (Sao Tomé), 17. Striped Leaf-nosed Bat (Macronycteris vittatus), 18. Dong Bac Trident Bat (Aselliscus dongbacanus), 19. Stoliczka’s Trident Bat (Aselliscus stoliczkanus), 20. Temminck’s Trident Bat (Aselliscus tricuspidatus), 21. East Asian Tailless Leaf-nosed (Bat Coelopsfrithii), 22. Malayan Tailless Leaf-nosed Bat (Coelops robinsoni), 23. Solomons Leaf-nosed Bat (Anthops omatus)

Distribution. Widespread in the savanna regions of Africa, patchily N of the equator from Sierra Leone , Ivory Coast , Nigeria , Central African Republic , Ethiopia , Somalia , and Kenya ; S of the equator recorded from SE DR Congo , Tanzania , Angola , Zambia , Malawi , Namibia , Botswana , Zimbabwe , Mozambique , and extreme NE South Africa ; also in Zanzibar Archipelago (Pemba, Unguja, and Mafia Is).