Macronycteris gigas (Wagner, 1845)

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

15. Giant Leaf-nosed Bat

Macronycteris gigas

French: Phyllorhine géante / German: Riesenrundblattnase / Spanish: Macronicterio gigante

Other common names: Giant Roundleaf Bat

Taxonomy. Rhinolophus gigas Wagner, 1845 ,

“ Benguela,” Angola.

Macronycteris gigas was previously considered conspecific with M. vittatus and M. commersonii (under the latter name), and this has created much confusion in the records from old literature. Monotypic.

Distribution. Widely distributed throughout tropical Africa from Senegal E to extreme W Uganda and E DR Congo, with isolated populations in W Angola, SE Kenya, and N, NE & SE Tanzania; also on Bioko I.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 98-115 mm, tail 25-50 mm, ear 24-36 mm, hindfoot 18-28 mm, forearm 95-124 mm; weight 85-138 g. Males are larger than females. The Giant Leaf-nosed Bat is the largest species of Macronycteris . It has a distinctive noseleaf that is divided into four cells on its posterior margin with three or four lateral leaflets. Pelage is dense and short, medium to dark brown dorsally, and somewhat paler ventrally; it has numerous flecks and paler markings. 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. An orange morph exists which is rusty brown throughout Difficult to distinguish from the Striped Leaf-nosed Bat ( M. vittatus ), but is significantly larger and generally darker.

Habitat. The Giant Leaf-nosed Bat inhabits lowland and coastal rainforest, and extends into wooded savanna, where it occurs in gallery forest. It occurs at elevations up to 1500 m, at Mount Nimba, Liberia.

Food and Feeding. The Giant Leaf-nosed Bat is insectivorous, feeding on a variety of insects including large beetles (Coleoptera) and winged termites (Isoptera). It puts on significant amounts of fat at the end of the rainy season.

Breeding. In Gabon, mating takes place inJune and the single young is bom in October, during the rainy season. Young bats can fly at 30-35 days of age and are fully grown at two months, but only become sexually mature after two years. In coastal Kenya, mating takes place inJuly-August, with births in November.

Activity patterns. The Giant Leaf-nosed Bat roosts predominantly in caves, but it may also roost in hollow trees and may hang in thick vegetation. Echolocation call includes a F component at 54—56 kHz.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Giant Leaf-nosed Bats roost in colonies of a few tens to a few hundred individuals. Pregnant females segregate into maternity roosts for only a few days. Some populations are migratory (e.g. in Kenya they migrate from the coast inland in October and again in May to take advantage of the wet season’s arrival).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCNRed List (as Hipposideros gigas ). Although the Giant Leaf-nosed Bat is widespread, it is locally threatened in parts of its range by general habitat loss (significant deforestation), cave disturbance, and subsistence hunting for food.

Bibliography. Brosset (1966b, 1969), Brosset & Saint Girons (1980), Decher & Fahr (2007), Happold, D.C.D. (1987), Happold, M. (2013y), Lang & Chapin (1917a, 1917b), McWilliam (1982), Monadjem, Richards & Denys (2016), Monadjem, Richards,Taylor, Denys eta/. (2013), Monadjem, Schoeman eta/. (2010), Monadjem,Taylor et al. (2010), Porter et al. (2010), Pye (1972), Rosevear (1965), Schütter et al. (1982), Thorn & Kerbis Peterhans (2009), Wolton eta/. (1982).

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. Widely distributed throughout tropical Africa from Senegal E to extreme W Uganda and E DR Congo , with isolated populations in W Angola , SE Kenya , and N, NE & SE Tanzania ; also on Bioko I.