Myonycteris relicta, Bergmans, 1980

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 16-162 : 93-94

56.

Bergmans’s Collared Fruit Bat

Myonycteris relicta

French: Myonyctére est-africain / German: Relikt-Halskrausenflughund / Spanish: Myonicterio de Bergmans

Other common names: East African Little Collared Fruit Bat

Taxonomy. Myonycteris relicta Bergmans, 1980 ,

Mukanda River, LLukore area, Shimba Hills, Coast Province, Kenya.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Kenya (Shimba Hills), Tanzania (Nguru and Usambara Mts), DR Congo, C Mozambique (Chinizuia Forest), and E Zimbabwe (confluence of Haroni and Rusitu rivers).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 90- 115 mm, tail 5-14 mm, ear 17-20 mm, hindfoot 9-22 mm, forearm 65-75 mm; weight 48-54 g. Head of Bergman's Collared Fruit Bat has no markings, muzzle is relatively long, and lips are rather thick, with limitedly expansible. Eyes are large; irises are chestnut-brown, with slight greenish tinge. Ears are moderately long and dark brown, with thick margins; tips are roundly attenuated, with c.10 transverse grooves; antitragal lobe moderate and angular; and there are no basal ear patches. Adult males lack epaulettes and mantle, but wide ruff ofstiff hairs is present. Dorsum is pale to medium reddish brown; hairs are pale pinkish brown at bases and reddish brown at tips. Pelage is dense, woollier on head, and mid-dorsally 7-8 mm, extending halfway along forearm. Venter is pinkish brown, with hairs having slightly darker bases and 3-5- 5 mm; in adult males, ruff on chin, throat, and upper chest extends to shoulders and consists of relatively coarse pale orange to pale orange-brown hairs. Wings have claw on second digits; membranes are dark brown, sparsely covered in hairs near legs only and not reaching ankle, and attach to middle offirst phalanx of second toes; toes are slightly webbed; and calcar is ¢. 7 mm long. Skull is short and delicate; rostrum is medium long; cranial axis is deflected; premaxillae are slender and fused anteriorly; zygomatic arches are slender and curved down; postorbital processes are well developed but slender; braincase is smooth, deep, and domed; temporal lines are distinct but not forming sagittal crest; and supraoccipital crest is low. Bony palate is concave; post-dental palate is straight, weakly converging backward. There are 6-7 thick palatal ridges, ridges 1-3 are undivided, and ridges 4-6 (or 7) are divided by small medial notch. Mandible is delicate. Dental formula is I 2/2, C1/1,P 3/3, M 2/2 (x2) = 32. Dentition is comparatively strong; upper incisors are minute; C' is short; posterior upper premolar and anterior molar are oblong and subrectangular in occlusal view; and M* and M, are reduced.

Habitat. East African Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal mosaic in lowland forest patches or undifferentiated Afromontane vegetation bordering on East African Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal mosaic at elevations of 152-1300 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. A pregnant Bergman's Collared Fruit Bat was recorded in November and a lactating female and two subadult specimens in February in Tanzania; another Tanzanian female was parous with large teats but not lactating in August.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCNRed List. Despite loss of lowland forests, there is too little evidence to assign Bergman's Collared Fruit Bat to a higher conservation category. Major threats include logging of forests for firewood and conversion of forests to agricultural use.

Bibliography. Bergmans (1980, 1997), Monadjem, Taylor et al. (2010), Peterson et al. (1995), Stanley & Goodman (2011), Taylor (2013b, 2016e), Van Cakenberghe et al. (2017).

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. Kenya (Shimba Hills), Tanzania (Nguru and Usambara Mts), DR Congo , C Mozambique (Chinizuia Forest), and E Zimbabwe (confluence of Haroni and Rusitu rivers).