Mops midas (Sundevall, 1843)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Molossidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 598-672 : 654-655

83.

Midas Free-tailed Bat

Mops midas

French: Tadaride midas / German: Midas-Bulldogfledermaus / Spanish: Mops de Midas

Other common names: Midas Bat, Midas Groove-cheeked Bat, Midas Mops Bat, Sundevall's Free-tailed Bat

Taxonomy. Dysopes midas Sundevall, 1843 ,

“Bahr el Abiad [= White Nile river],” Sudan.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Widely but patchily distributed through sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal E to Eritrea and Ethiopia and S through SE Sudan, South Sudan, NE DR Congo, W Kenya, SW Uganda, SW Zambia, N Namibia, N Botswana, Zimbabwe, S Malawi, and NE South Africa; also in SW Saudi Arabia and N, W & S Madagascar.

Descriptive notes. Head—body ¢.89-94 mm, tail 37-56 mm, ear 23-32 mm, hindfoot 11-15 mm, forearm 59-67 mm; weight 38-69 g. Fur is short,silky and sparse, almost lacking across shoulders, dark brown, medium sepia-brown, pale brown or pale gray above, with pale gray or white frosting and flecking; underside is grayish brown or pinkish brown to silvery gray, frosted (subadults almost white) with no mid-ventral markings, but ventral flank-stripe is white or paler than underside; an orange morph is reddish to almost orange above. Wings are medium brown and uropatagium is dark brown. Upper lip has 5-6 well-defined wrinkles on each side and many spoon-hairs. Ears are blackish brown and relatively long (extending past muzzle when laid forward), inner margins of ears are joined across forehead by interaural band of skin bearing forward-shaped pocket containing erectile crest of long brown hairs, in both sexes. Tragus is small, squarish or hatchet-shaped, and concealed by antitragus, which is large and semicircular. Anterior palate is closed and basisphenoid pits are moderately deep. As is typical for Mops , cusps on M? are V-shaped rather than N-shaped (i.e. with third ridge being much reduced). Chromosomal complement has 2n = 48 and FNa = 66.

Habitat. Midas Free-tailed Bats prefer woodland and lowland savanna habitats, often associated with major rivers such as the Blue Nile, upper reaches of White Nile, Shire River in Malawi, and Zambezi and Limpopo valleys.

Food and Feeding. The Midas Free-tailed Bat is an open-air forager, having long, narrow wings with a high wing loading (11-4 N/m?®) and intermediate aspect ratio (8-9). Preliminary data from stomach contents of one animal, and the robust skull, mandible, and dentition, suggested that it feeds predominantly on beetles. In two studies conducted in a macadamia-growing area in Limpopo Province, north-eastern South Africa, one involving microscopic analysis of fecal samples revealed little difference in diet between winter (April) and summer (October-December), the diet being dominated by Coleoptera (75-90%), Hemiptera (420%), and Lepidoptera (4-13%). A second Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) study offecal pellets of Midas Free-tailed Bats from the same region revealed 93 prey items of seven insect orders: Lepidoptera , Coleoptera , Hemiptera , Diptera , Orthoptera, Blattodea, and Neuroptera. In terms of percentage of occurrence, the diet was dominated by Lepidoptera (100%) followed by Coleoptera (67%), Hemiptera and Neuroptera (29% each), and Blattodea (25%). A total of 17 lepidopteran families were determined in the diet, of which six possessed tympani. One-half (40 out of 81) of the identified lepidopteran prey items belonged to one family, Noctuidae , and another eleven prey items belonged to Geometridae . Both of these families comprise tympanate members (i.e. those with hearing organs). Based on recordings from individuals emerging from a known roost in the Soutpansberg of north-eastern South Africa, echolocation calls are very low frequency (minimum frequency 14 kHz), long duration (10-15 milliseconds), and narrow bandwidth. Since this frequencyfalls below the optimal hearing range of tympanate moths, the Allotonic Frequency Hypothesis would predict that hearing moths would avoid detection by hunting Midas Free-tailed Bats and would therefore be largely absent from their diet. The dietary data related above appear to negate the predictions of the Allotonic Frequency Hypothesis.

Breeding. Limited data suggest a birth season from December to March in southern Africa, although lactating females or juveniles have been reported in April and June, suggesting either extended seasonal monoestry or seasonal polyestry. Littersize is one.

Activity patterns. Midas Free-tailed Bats are nocturnal and roost in human structures such as attics in buildings and expansion joints of bridges, as well as natural roosts such as cracks and hollows in trees, shallow rock crevices, and within the leaves of coconut palms.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Midas Free-tailed Bats roost communally in groups of up to hundreds. In Kruger National Park, north-eastern South Africa, radio-tracked individuals moved at least 10 km from their roost.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. ACR (2017), Archer (1977), Cotterill & Happold (2013g), Dunlop (1999), Fenton & Rautenbach (1986), Monadjem, Cotterill, Ratrimomanarivo et al. (2017), Monadjem, Taylor et al. (2010), Mphethe (2017), Ratrimomanarivo et al. (2007), Rosevear (1965), Smithers (1971), Taylor, Matamba et al. (2017), Taylor, Sowler et al. (2013), Verschuren (1957).

Figures

14. Bonda Mastiff Bat (Molossus currentium), 15. Fenton’s Masuft Bat (Molossus fentoni), 17. Pallas’s Mastiff Bat (Molossus molossus), 18. Miller’s Mastiff Bat (Molossus pretiosus), 19. Black Mastiff Bat (Molossus rufus)

Distribution. Widely but patchily distributed through sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal E to Eritrea and Ethiopia and S through SE Sudan , South Sudan , NE DR Congo , W Kenya , SW Uganda , SW Zambia , N Namibia , N Botswana , Zimbabwe , S Malawi , and NE South Africa ; also in SW Saudi Arabia and N, W & S Madagascar .