Macronycteris gigas ( Wagner, 1845 )

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 : 271

Macronycteris gigas ( Wagner, 1845)

Rhinolophus gigas Wagner, 1845: 148 .

COMMON NAME. — Giant Leaf-nosed Bat.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Agumatsa Wildlife Sanctuary • 1 ♀; SMF 92135; 11.VIII.2001 .

REMARK

This is the second largest insectivorous bat in West Africa, exceeded in size only by the emballonurid Saccolaimus peli ( Temminck, 1853) . We follow Foley et al. (2017) in the use of the name Macronycteris Gray, 1866 instead of Hipposideros Gray, 1831 . This Macronyteris female was identified as M. gigas by the late D. Kock (in litt.) based on its large forearm measurement of 102 mm. The mean for ♀ M. vittatus (Peters, 1852) is 93.9 mm with a Range of 84-101mm ( Happold 2013b). Only one individual of this large hipposiderid bat was collected during the rainy season. Four other Volta Region specimens are known from Odomi Jongo, 2 miles E Nkwanta (USNM 424858-61). Togo highlands specimens are known from Adjido, Agou, and Ezimé ( De Vree et al. 1969; Robbins 1980). Our record confirms previous observations ( Grubb et al. 1998) that in Ghana this species often occurs in forests, although it is also found in Guinea woodland and even in the coastal savanna like the Accra Plains ( Decher 1997a). In Côte d’Ivoire, Fahr (1996) made six of his eight captures in the rain forest zone. Six ectoparasitic Ascodipteron variisetosum Maa, 1965 [ Diptera : Streblidae ] with (2 × 3) were found on the ventral side of the upper arm on the specimen from Agumatsa.

CONSERVATION STATUS. — Listed as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List, this species is of some conservation concern in the Ghana- Togo Highlands because it appears to be patchily distributed and may be limited not so much by the availability of large tracts of forest as by the presence of large hollow trees and caves for its roosts ( Grubb et al. 1998).