Rhinolophus sakejiensis, Cotterill, 2002

Burgin, Connor, 2019, Rhinolophidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 280-332 : 294-295

29 . Sakeji Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus sakejiensis

French: Rhinolophe de la Sakeji / German: Sakeji-Hufeisennase / Spanish: Herradura de Sakeji

Taxonomy. Rhinolophus sakejiensis Cotterill, 2002 ,

“ Kavunda (11°17’ S; 24°2 ' E) between the Sakeji and Zambezi rivers: c. 11 km north-north-east of the source of the Zambezi River in the Ikelenge Pedicle, Mwinilunga District of north-west Zambia.”

Rhinolophus sakejiensis is in the ferrumequinum species group based on morphology, but its exact relationships are uncertain. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from type locality in NW Zambia.

Descriptive notes. Head—body c.57-58 nun, tail 29—31 mm, ear 20—22 mm, hindfoot 14—15 mm, forearm 53—55 mm; weight 19—24 g. Dorsal pelage is bright brownish orange (hairs are orange with darker tips); venter is bright yellowish orange; and eyes are surrounded by darker brown fur. No gray morph has been reported. Males seem to lack axillary tufts. Ears are short and dark brown. Noseleaf has hastate lancet; connecting process rises steeply to high, narrow, and rounded tip, being much higher than height of sella; sella is naked with broad, rounded tip that is angled forward and with slightly concave sides; and horseshoe is medium in width at c. 10-11 mm, does not cover entire muzzle and has lateral leaflets and wide, deep median emargination. Lower lip has one conspicuous median groove and two faint lateral grooves. Wings and uropatagium are dark blackish brown. Baculum is trumpet-shaped, with dorso-ventrally flattened shaft. Skull is extremely robust, with robust zygomatic arches (zygomatic width is wider than mastoid width); nasal swellings are relatively low and not smoothly rounded; frontal depression is very shallow and supraorbital ridges are inconspicuous; sagittal crest is well developed anteriorly but weakly developed posteriorly; and interpterygoid groove is shallow. P2 is absent, allowing C1 and P4 to touch, and P3 is absent, allowing P2 and P4 to touch. Dental formula is 11/2, C 1/1, P 1/2, M 3/3 (x2) = 28.

Habitat. Wet miombo woodland mosaic at an elevation of 1388 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Only known specimens of the Sakeji Horseshoe Bat were collected while roosting during the day, hanging in evergreen foliage on the underside of a branch at base of a large tree. This kind of day roost is rather unusual for a rhinolophid.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. All known specimens of the Sakeji Horseshoe Bat were captured from a day roost that had a group of six individuals.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCNRed List. The Sakeji Horseshoe Bat is known from only three specimens at a single location, and no information on its natural history and ecology is known. It might be threatened by logging and agricultural expansion, but additional research is needed.

Bibliography. ACR (2018), Cotterill (2002a, 2008a, 2013c), Csorba et al. (2003).

Figures

On following pages: 27. African Forest Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus silvestris); 28. Upland Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hillorum); 29. Sakeji Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus sakejiensis); 30. Bokhara Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus bocharicus); 31. Greater Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum); 32. Geoffrey's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus clivosus); 33. Greater Japanese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus nippon); 34. Horacek's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus horaceki); 35. Maclaud's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus maclaudi); 36. Ziama Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ziama); 37. Hill's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hilli); 38. Kahuzi Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus kahuzi); 39. Willard's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus willardi); 40. Ruwenzori Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ruwenzorii); 41. Chinese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus xinanzhongguoensis); 42. Big-eared Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus macrotis); 43. Osgood's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus osgoodi); 44. Allen's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus episcopus); 45. Thai Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus siamensis); 46, Schnitzler's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus schnitzten); M. King Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus rex); 48. Marshall’s Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus marshalli).

Distribution. Known only from type locality in NW Zambia .