Nanonycteris veldkampi (Jentink, 1888)

Decher, Jan, Norris, Ryan W., Abedi-Lartey, Michael, Oppong, James, Hutterer, Rainer, Weinbrenner, Martin, Koch, Martin, Podsiadlowski, Lars & Kilpatrick, C. William, 2021, A survey of small mammals in the Volta Region of Ghana with comments on zoogeography and conservation, Zoosystema 43 (14), pp. 253-281 : 268-269

Nanonycteris veldkampi (Jentink, 1888)

Epomophorus veldkampii Jentink, 1888a: 51 .

COMMON NAME. — Veldkamp’s Bat.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Agumatsa Wildlife Sanctuary • 1 ♀ with 1 embryo; SMF 89665. Apesokubi • 1♀ with 1 embryo; SMF 89664 .

REMARK

Previous records of this species were from Odomi Jongo in the Volta Region (USNM) and from Bismarckburg, Misahohé, Aledjo, Atakpamé, Evou, Ezimé, Fazao, Odjolo, Plateau Akpossi in Togo ( De Vree et al. 1969, 1970; De Vree & Van der Straeten 1971). This is a small fruit bat similar in appearance to Micropteropus pusillus from which it can be distinguished by its slender snout and the nine undivided and thinner palatal ridges (see drawings in Bergmans [1997] and Happold [1987]). With just two specimens captured at the beginning of dry season in 1999, N. veldkampi was much less common than M. pusillus (23 specimens; Table 2 ). The seasonal occurrence could be explained by the migratory behavior of this species, which was shown to follow the progression of the rains northward to savanna areas ( Fahr 1996, Thomas 1983). Similarly, at Mount Nimba, Wolton et al. (1982) did not obtain this species at all between early July and early September, whereas it was common there at other times of the year ( Monadjem et al. 2016). During the African Small Mammal Project, between January and June 1968 ( Robbins 1980), no N. veldkampi were encountered, yet the same Project captured 20 M. pusillus in Togo and Benin. During a study on the Accra Plains between November 1991 and June 1992 no N. veldkampi were encountered, but 45 M. pusillus were captured ( Decher 1997a).

CONSERVATION STATUS. — Nanonyteris veldkampi is classified as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List. Its migratory behavior and dependence on forest remnants still need to be investigated in more detail in the Ghana-Togo Highlands.