Hipposideros ruber (Noack, 1893)

Bates, Paul J. J., Cameron, Kenneth, Pearch, Malcolm J. & Hayes, Benjamin, 2013, A review of the bats (Chiroptera) of the Republic of Congo, including eight species new to the country, Acta Chiropterologica 15 (2), pp. 313-340 : 318-321

Hipposideros ruber (Noack, 1893)

Noack’s leaf-nosed bat

Phyllorhina rubra Noack, 1893: 586 , pl. 18, f. 14, 15. Lugerrunjere, = Ngerengere River, Eastern Province, Tanzania.

New material

HZM.75.40173 , ♂, HZM.76.40174 , ♂, 29 July, 2012, Airport Road , Lekoumou, 2°45.724’S, 13°34.953’E ; HZM.77.40175, ♂, HZM.78.40176, ♂, 30 July, 2012, Lebayi Cave , Lekoumou, 2°42.045’S, 13°35.968’E. It is listed without comment or details in Anciaux de Faveaux (1971), Baron (1999) and ACR (2012). However, these are the first authenticated records for Congo ( Appendix I ); it is considered by Happold and Happold (2013) to be probably fairly common in Africa in suitable habitats.

Description

A small leaf-nosed bat with a forearm length of 50.5–52.1 mm ( Table 2 ). The noseleaf is simple. There are two supplementary leaflets and the anteri- or leaf is without an emargination in the mid-part of its anterior border. Within the noseleaf, there is a narial lappet situated on the outer edge of each

nostril; the internarial septum is small and bluntly triangular. The intermediate leaf is cushion-like, shaped like an inverted triangle, and without distinctive features; it is narrower than the posterior leaf, which has one small indistinct compartment, separated by septa at each end of the leaf but is otherwise simple and featureless. Pelage colour (although difficult to determine in wet specimens) appears to range from dark brown to orange. Skull length (SL) is 18.71–19.30 mm and upper toothrow length (C–M 3) is 6.56–6.94 mm ( Table 3 ). The anterior and postero-lateral chambers of the rostrum are both well inflated. The postero-median chambers are small and slightly inflated. The frontal depression is very shallow; the well defined supraorbital ridges join the well developed sagittal crest in the mid-part of the constriction between the rostrum and the braincase. The first upper premolar (P 2) is minute and lies in the toothrow or is extruded such that the canine is sometimes in contact with the second upper premolar (P 4). In the lower dentition, the first premolar (P 2) is three-quarters the crown area and half the height of the second premolar (P 4 — Fig. 5B ). The baculum is very short (0.8 mm) and simple ( Fig. 6A ).

Taxonomic notes

Although the measurements and morphology of the four specimens collected in Lekoumou closely correspond to H. ruber as described in Monadjem et al. (2010), the work of Vallo et al. (2008), amongst others, clearly shows that this species, together with H. caffer (see below), probably comprises a number of cryptic species. Vallo et al. (2008) suggested that there are at least two lineages in the Congo Basin but did not expand on the taxonomic implications of these findings. Therefore, in the current study we have followed recent literature such as Simmons (2005) and Monadjem et al. (2010) and referred the five specimens of small African leaf-nosed bats collected syntopically in Lekoumou to H. ruber (the larger form [CBL> 16.0 mm] — four specimens) and H. caffer (the smaller form [CBL <16.0 mm] — one specimen). We expect however that they may be reassigned in the future when knowledge of the ruber-caffer species group is more complete.

The subspecific status of these four specimens is not clear. Happold and Happold (2013) refer specimens from Senegal to Gabon to H. ruber guineensis and those ranging from the Central African Republic and Angola to eastern Africa to H. r. ruber .

The specimens from Congo are collected from a locality that is equidistant from both these subspecific geographical ranges.

Figures

APPENDIX I A list of the forty-three bat species currently recorded from Congo, including citations in the literature and locality data. CS (Conservation status – NT: Near threatened; DD: Data deficient; LC: Least concern) is based on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species retrieved on 8 May, 2013. Two species listed here have not been assessed (na) by IUCN for their conservation status but rather have been included within other taxa: Triaenops afer in Triaenops persicus and Chaerephon leucogaster in Tadarida pumila. Superscripts associated with localities in column 4 refer to the superscripts for the literature cited in column 3

FIG. 5. Lateral view of anterior skull and mandible of (A): Hipposideros caffer, HZM.244.40187, ♂ and (B): H. ruber, HZM.78.40176, ♂. Scale = 2 mm

FIG. 6. Bacula (dorsal view [left] and lateral view [right]) of (A): Hipposideros ruber, HZM.78.40176 and (B): Triaenops afer, HZM.39.40178. Scale = 0.5 mm