Nanonycteris veldkampii (Jentink, 1888)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 16-162 : 96

61.

Veldkamp’s Epauletted Fruit Bat

Nanonycteris veldkampii

French: Nanonyctére de Veldkamp / German: Veldkamp-Zwergflughund / Spanish: Nanonicterio de Veldkamp

Other common names: \ eldkamp’s Dwarf Epauletted Fruit Bat

Taxonomy. Epomophorus veldkampu Jentink, 1888 ,

“Buluma, Fisherman Lake,” Liberia.

Nanonycteris veldkampii was originally assigned to Epomophorus and subsequently to its subgenus Nanonycteris , which was raised to full genus by K. Andersen in 1912. Monotypic.

Distribution. W Africa from Guinea to C & SW Cameroon and S Central African Republic (Bangui).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 69-80 mm (males) and 75-87 mm (females), tail 1-4 mm, ear 14-18 mm, forearm 46-52 mm (males) and 47-54 mm (females), hindfoot 12-16 mm (males) and 13-16 mm (females); weight 16-27 g (males) and 19- 36 g (females). Males average slightly smaller in body and skull measurements than females. Muzzle is moderately short, slender, and tapering; lips are slightly expansible; long hairs cover cheek and chin; and short white hairs surround nostrils. Eyes are large; irises are chestnut-brown. Ears are dark brown, naked, relatively long and narrow, and attenuated at tips, with anterior and posterior basal white ear patches. White or yellowish epaulettes occur on adult males and soft off-white hairs on shoulders of females. Dorsum is pale to medium brown, reddish brown, or grayish brown; pelage is dense, soft, and mid-dorsally 6-7 mm, extending over two-thirds of forearm and densely covering legs, major part of uropatagium, and posterior part of wing between fifth digit and foot. Venter is noticeably paler than dorsum; hairs are pale buffy gray to whitish. Wings have claw on second digits, membranes are brown and noticeably reticulated, fur covers about half of forearm, and wings emerge from sides of body and insert to second toes. Skull is short and delicate, rostrum is thin and tapering, orbit is very large, zygomatic arches are slender, and braincase is rounded and deflected. Post-dental palate is almost as wide as distance between posterior upper molars, with slight convexly curving sides. Mandible is very thin, and processes of ramus are reduced. There are 9-13 palatal ridges, of which five are interdental; ridges 1-3 are very thick and undivided, although exceptionally third can be notched or narrowly divided; ridges 4-8 (or 9) are thick in their central part, where there is also a small gap, and their anterior edge is notched and their lateral arms are serrated; and final ridges are thin and serrated, becoming weaker and less curved. Dental formula is12/2,C1/1,P 2/3, M 1/2 (x2) = 28. Dentition is relatively weak; upper tooth row is short, not reaching edge of orbit; and exceptionally an additional upper premolar 1s present.

Habitat. Rainforest biotic zone in secondary forests and cultivated areas such as farmland, small plantations, and gardens and Guinea Savanna and Rainforest-Savanna Mosaic biotic zones in coastal and montane forests, mangroves, gallery forests, isolated forests patches, and exceptionally in undisturbed lowland rainforest from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 1200 m.

Food and Feeding. Veldkamp’s Epauletted Fruit Bat forages near the ground and close to vegetation, where it feeds throughout the night on figs, fruits, nectar, and pollen. Fruits and flower products are eaten from at least 13 genera in ten families. In Ivory Coast, there are three small activity peaks at ¢.20:00 h, 23:00 h, and 01:00 h, but in Ghana, it 1s most active between 22:00 h and 02:30 h.

Breeding. Litter size of Veldkamp’s Epauletted Fruit Bat is one. Reproductive chronology is unknown, but it might be aseasonal or extended seasonal polyestry in West Africa where females do not appear to be in close reproductive synchrony. Seventy-five percent of captured females were pregnant in November—-December and 55% in May; almost 50% were pregnant, lactating, or both in July-August. At Mount Nimba ( Liberia), males were sexually active in October-December.

Activity patterns. Veldkamp’s Epauletted Fruit Bat is nocturnal. Day roosts are unknown, but Mano tribesmen (Mount Nimba area) indicated it inhabits old woodpecker and barbet holes. Males are suspected to call during the night to attract females because high-pitched repetitive sounds are often heard in gallery forests and relict forests in Comoé National Park ( Ivory Coast). Individuals seemed widely spaced when they utter their monotonous calls.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Veldkamp’s Epauletted Fruit Bat shows some migratory patterns with both sexes moving between forests in dry season (October-February) and more northerly rainforest-savanna mosaic habitats at onset of wet season (March—June) or even further to Guinea savanna (April-July) and Sudan savanna (April-August), returning to rainforest-savanna habitats in August—January. These round-trips are 300-1100 km. In Ghana, a smaller migration might take place because individuals move southward from forest to Accra plains during wet season (March-September). During this migration, there might be some partial segregation of sexes, with females returning to rainforest zone c.1 month later than males. In the Guinean Mount Nimba region, Veldkamp’s Epauletted Fruit Bats seemed to be present during dry and wet seasons.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCNRed List. Veldkamp’s Epauletted Fruit Bat has a wide distribution and presumably large population. It is unlikely to be declining fast enough to be assigned to a higher category. It faces no major threats, but habitat degradation might be a problem in parts of its distribution.

Bibliography. Andersen (1912b), Bergmans (1989), Coe (1975), Denys et al. (2013), Fahr (2013a), Monadjem, Fahr, Hutson et al. (2017d), Rosevear (1965), Wolton etal. (1982).

Figures

50. Western Woermann’s Fruit Bat (Megaloglossus azagnyi), 51. Eastern Woermann’s Fruit Bat (Megaloglossus woermanni), 52. Angolan Soft-furred Fruit Bat (Lissonycteris angolensis), 53. Little Collared Fruit Bat (Myonycteris torquata), 54. Sao Tome Collared Fruit Bat (Myonycteris brachycephala), 55. Sierra Leone Collared Fruit Bat (Myonycteris leptodon), 56. Bergmans’s Collared Fruit Bat (Myonycteris relicta), 57. Broad-faced Fruit Bat (Plerotes anchietae), 58. Hammer-headed Fruit Bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus), 59. Franquet’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomops franqueti), 60. Buttikofer’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomops buettikoferi), 61. Veldkamp’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Nanonycteris veldkampr), 62. Gambian Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus gambianus), 63. Peters’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus erypturus), 64. Angolan Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus angolensis), 65. Little Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus labiatus), 66. Minor Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus minor), 67. Ansell’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus anselli), 68. Wahlberg's Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi), 69. Dobson’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus dobsonu), 70. Sanborn’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus grands), 71. Lesser Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus pusillus), 72. Hayman’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus intermedius)

Distribution. W Africa from Guinea to C & SW Cameroon and S Central African Republic (Bangui).