Miniopterus griveaudi, Harrison, 1959

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Miniopteridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 674-709 : 706-707

28.

Griveaud’s Long-fingered Bat

Miniopterus griveaudi

French: Minioptere des Comores / German: Griveaud-Langflligelfledermaus / Spanish: Miniéptero de Griveaud

Other common names: Comoros Bent-winged Bat, Comoros Long-fingered Bat

Taxonomy. Miniopterus nunor griveaud: D. L. Harrison, 1959 ,

“ Grande Comore.”

Miniopterus griveaudi was described as a subspecies of M. minor and later included in M. manavi . Reportedly, there are significant differences in inter-island genetic structure and morphology. Monotypic.

Distribution. N & W Madagascar, and Comoro Is (Grande Comore and Anjouan).

Descriptive notes. Head-body ¢.50-51 mm, tail 35-43 mm, ear 9-11 mm, hindfoot 5—7 mm, forearm 35-38 mm; weight 4-1-7-1 g ( Madagascar). Pelage of Griveaud’s Long-fingered Bat is generally dark brown on dorsum, although some individuals have distinct blackish tone (dark morph). In a few individuals, including adults, dorsum is reddish brown (red morph), which seems to be more common in Grande Comore and Anjouan populations than in the population from Madagascar. In most individuals, head is slightly lighter than dorsum. Ventral fur tends to have grayish buff tips, giving mottled appearance. Wing and tail membranes are slightly variable in color and generally dark to medium brown on wings grading into lighter brown in section surrounding tail. In contrast to the Manavil Long-fingered Bat ( M. manavi ), uropatagium of Griveaud’s Long-fingered Batis largely naked on ventral and dorsal surfaces, except for thin hairs often difficult to discern with the naked eye. Uropatagium and plagiopatagium are attached at same level to femur and directly to ankle joint or in slightly superior position; in the Manavil Long-fingered Bat, these two membranes attach notably above this joint. Griveaud’s Long-fingered Bat has notably thinner tragus (5—7 mm) with relatively straight shaft, and in some cases reduced flange on exterior margin, and its structure terminates with slightly retracted and rounded head.

Habitat. Lowland gallery forests and remnant forest fragments surrounded by agricultural areas from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 400 m in Madagascar, 15-670 m on Grande Comore, and sea level to 890 m on Anjouan.

Food and Feeding. Griveaud’s Long-fingered Bat is expected to feed mainly on soft insects captured in flight. It probably forages in open areas.

Breeding. Reproductive cycle seems to vary locally. On Grande Comore, females were heavily pregnant with a single embryo in November, whereas males did not show reproductive activity. Both sexes were not sexually active in April. On Anjouan, neither males or females had signs of reproductive activity in November.

Activity patterns. Griveaud’s Long-fingered Bat is nocturnal. At a cave on Grande Comore, it emerged at sunset, but when it wasstill in light, in November. It uses caves in limestone karst sites in Madagascar and lava tubes in the Comoro Archipelago, and it also uses relatively shallow rock cavities as daytime shelters. Echolocation calls from Madagascar have downward FM signals, with maximum frequencies of 82-130 kHz, minimum frequencies of 53-58 kHz, peak frequencies of 56-4-62-4 kHz, durations of 2.7—4-4 milliseconds, and intervals of 40—123-6 milliseconds.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Visual counts of Griveaud’s Longfingered Bat in some roosts exceeded several thousand individuals.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Goodman, Maminirina, Bradman et al. (2009), Goodman, Maminirina, WWeyeneth et al. (2009), Goodman, Weyeneth et al. (2010), Harrison (1959), Juste (2008), Juste et al. (2007), Ramasindrazana et al. (2011), Weyeneth et al. (2008).

Figures

18. Villiers’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus villiersi), 19. Greater Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus inflatus), 20. Newton's Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus newtoni), 21. Least Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus minor), 22. Sandy Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus arenarius), 23. African Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus africanus), 24. Natal Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus natalensis), 25. Mozambican Long-fingered Bat (Muniopterus mossambicus), 26. Lesser Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus fraterculus), 27. Aellen’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus aelleni), 28. Griveaud’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus griveaudi), 29. Glen’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus gleni), 30. Madagascar Long-fingered Bat (Manaopterus brachytragos), 31. Montagne d’Ambre Long-fingered Bat (Minaiopterus ambohitrenss), 32. Major’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus majori), 33. Eger’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus egent), 34. Manavil Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus manai), 35. Sororcula Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus sororculus), 36. Peterson’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus petersoni), 37. Mahafaly Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus mahafaliensis), 38. Griffiths’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus griffiths)

Distribution. N & W Madagascar , and Comoro Is (Grande Comore and Anjouan).