Chaerephon russatus (J. A. Allen, 1917 )

Decher, Jan, Hoffmann, Anke, Schaer, Juliane, N Orris, Ryan W., Kadjo, Blaise, Astrin, Jonas, Monadjem, Ara & Hutterer, Rainer, 2015, Bat diversity in the Simandou Mountain Range of Guinea, with the description of a new white-winged vespertilionid, Acta Chiropterologica 17 (2), pp. 255-282 : 275

Chaerephon russatus (J. A. Allen, 1917)

New material

ZFMK 2008.0307, ♂, OU, 1 March 2008.

Only one individual of this molossid was captured at the OU ridge, a male with a pronounced hair crest. In measurements, it closely resembles Chaerephon nigeriae ; however, it lacks the white ventral flank stripes, a key character of nigeriae ( Rosevear, 1965) . The male collected at Simandou is almost identical in colour and size to a female ( ZFMK 1997.0448) from the Parc National du Haute Niger, Guinea, previously listed under C. nigeriae by Ziegler et al. (2002). Forearm measurements of the two preserved bats are 43.5 and 45.0 mm, well within the range of C. russatus ( Happold, 2013 c; as Tadarida russata ). The inner margins of the ears are joined by a band, the wing membranes are dark brown, the anterior palatal emargination of the skull is closed, and the depth and size of basisphenoid pits is moderate (characters following Happold, 2013 c). Also the skull lengths of the two specimens from Guinea ( GLSK 19.2, 19.5 mm) agree well with C. russatus .

The two specimens therefore represent the first record of C. russatus from Guinea. In West Africa, the species was previously known from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana ( Happold, 2013 c). The previously reported record of C. nigeriae from Guinea ( Ziegler et al., 2002) should therefore be deleted.

Our records indicate that this fast flying species hunts in the uncluttered habitat along the Simandou Ridge. It probably also roosts in caves and cliffs along the ridge.

Conservation status Data Deficient ( IUCN, 2015).