Rhinolophus alticolus, Sanborn, 1936

Burgin, Connor, 2019, Rhinolophidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 280-332 : 287

14 . Cameroon Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus alticolus

French: Rhinolophe du Cameroun / German: Kamerun-Hufeisennase / Spanish: Herradura de Camerûn

Taxonomy. Rhinolophus alcyone alticolus Sanborn, 1936 ,

“ cave at 5,800 feet [= 1768 m] on Mount Cameroon , Cameroon Mandate .”

Rhinolophus alticolus generally has been included as a subspecies of R simulator , but it is considered a separate species here due to its morphological distinction and distributional discontinuity. Rhinolophus alticolus is in the capensis species group, although its genetic material is not available and additional research is needed. Monotypic.

Distribution. N Liberia, SE Guinea, Nigeria, and W Cameroon.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 55-56 mm, tail 22-26 mm, ear 21 mm, hindfoot c. 7- 10 mm, forearm 49 mm; weight 12- 5 g. Dorsal pelage ranges from dark brown to grayish brown (hairs are paler at bases); venter is distinctly paler. No orange morph is known. Males lack axillary tufts. Ears are short (c.42-8% of forearm length). Noseleaf has triangular lancet, with straight or only slighdy concave sides (distincdy different than the Bushveld Horseshoe Bat, R simulator ); connecting process is rounded; sella is naked, with sides nearly parallel or slighdy concave (wider than in the Bushveld Horseshoe Bat); narial lobes at base of sella are comparatively well developed; and horseshoe is moderate in width (wider than in the Bushveld Horseshoe Bat), with very indistinct lateral leaflets and deeply notched anterior emargination. Lower lip has three grooves, although lateral grooves are indistinct in some specimens. Wings are dark brown or dark grayish brown, and uropatagium is nearly black. Skull is delicately built, with thin zygomatic arches and zygomatic width less than or equal to mastoid width; nasal swellings are relatively high and rounded; frontal depression is moderately deep; and sagittal crest is very underdeveloped and very low. Palatal bridge is 38% of upper tooth row length; P2 is small to medium-sized and in tooth row, separating C1 and P4; Q is smaller than C1; and P3 is tiny and completely displaced labially, allowing contact between P2 and P4.

Habitat. Lowland and montane rainforests and forest savanna mosaics. Cameroon Horseshoe Bats occur in lowland rainforests at elevations of c. 130 m in Cameroon; forest savanna mosaic at 2300 m on Jos Plateau, Nigeria; and montane forests at 1400 m and above on Mount Nimba ( Guinea and Ivory Coast border).

Food and Feeding. Cameroon Horseshoe Bats forage by slow hawking and possibly gleaning. They are known to enter lit rooms at night.

Breeding. Cameroon Horseshoe Bats are apparently seasonally monoestrous, although this requires additional research.

Activity patterns. Cameroon Horseshoe Bats are nocturnal and active in their roost during the day while other horseshoe bat species are usually torpid. They have been recorded roosting in caves and abandoned mines.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Cameroon Horseshoe Bats have been recorded singly or in groups. Small groups of four or 25-50 individuals have been recorded roosting together, although some caves are reported with 250 or more individuals. Cameroon Horseshoe Bats have been recorded roosting with Halcyon Horseshoe Bats (AE alcyone ).

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN ed List. The Cameroon Horseshoe Bat was previously included in R simulator , which is classified as Least Concern. It is considered rare and known from only a few scattered locations in West Africa; it apparently occurs in large numbers in Cameroon.

Bibliography. ACR (2018), Brosset (1985), Cotterill & Happold (2013d), Csorba et al. (2003), Denys et al. (2013), Hutterer et al. (1992), Monadjem & Fahr (2007), Monadjem, Richards & Denys (2016), Monadjem, Taylor, Jacobs & Cotterill (2017c), Rosevear (1965).

Figures

On following pages: 4. Lander's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus landeri); 5. Guinean Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus guineensis); 6. Blasius's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus blasii); 7. Peters's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus lobatus); 8. Swinny's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus swinnyi); 9. Cape Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus capensis); 10. Gorongosa Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus gorongosae); 11. Roberts's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus rhodesiae); 12. Bushveld Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus simulato/); 13. Dent's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus denti); 14. Cameroon Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus alticolus); 15. Mehely's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus mehelyi); 16. Mediterranean Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus euryale); 17. Hildebrandt's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hildebrandtii); 18. Mount Mabu Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus mabuensis); 19. Cohen's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus cohenae); 20. Smithers's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus smithersi); 21. Mozambican Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus mossambicus); 22. Rüppell's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus fumigatus); 23. Eloquent Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus Bloquons).

Distribution. N Liberia , SE Guinea , Nigeria , and W Cameroon .