Glauconycteris alboguttata Allen, 1917

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 : 323-324

Glauconycteris alboguttata Allen, 1917

Striped butterfly bat

Glauconycteris alboguttata Allen, 1917: 449 ; Medje, Oriental, Democratic Republic of Congo.

New material

HZM.1.40172 , ♀, 29 July, 2012, Airport Road , Lekoumou, 2°45.724’S, 13°34.953’E . This is the first record for Congo ( Appendix I ). According to Happold and Happold (2013), this species is ‘very rarely collected’ throughout its range in Africa.

Description

A medium-small bat with a forearm length of 39.5 mm ( Table 2 ) and a characteristic pelage colour. The dorsal surface is dark brown but with a patch of pure white hairs at the base of each humerus and with a narrow, discontinuous stripe of white hairs on each flank, which extends from the shoulder as far as the hind leg. The ventral pelage is slightly paler than the dorsal surface. The muzzle, chin, sides of the face, and ear (inner surface and upper part of outer surface) are nearly naked and very pale, almost white. Each tragus, which is also pale, is short with a concave anterior border, a rounded posterior border, and a basal notch ( Fig. 8A ). The outer border of the wing, the forearms and digits are light brown above and nearly white below. The skull has a greatest length of 13.50 mm ( Table 3 ). It is broad with a small rostrum and a greatly inflated braincase ( Fig. 9B ). The first upper incisor (I 2) is robust, with a very small secondary cusp; the second (I 3) is unicuspid and minute ( Fig. 9B ). The upper premolar (P 4) is between half and two-thirds the crown area of first molar (M 1) ( Fig. 9B ). The third molar (M 3) has three commissures. The lower incisors are tricuspidate; the middle cusp of I 2 and I 3 is considerably larger than the lateral cusps; I 3 greatly exceeds I 2 in size, which in turn exceeds I 1. The first lower premolar (P 2) is half the crown area and one-third the height of the second (P 4); both teeth have a poorly-defined cingular cusp on the anterior, interior cingulum.

Taxonomic notes

Currently there are no recognised subspecies (or named forms) referred to this species ( Simmons, 2005; Happold and Happold, 2013).

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. 8. Right tragus of (A): Glauconycteris alboguttata, HZM.1.40172, ♀; (B): G. beatrix, HZM.1.40181, ♀; (C): Hypsugo crassulus, HZM.1.40190, ♂; (D): Neoromicia brunnea, HZM.1.40191, ♂; (E): N. nana, HZM.321.40186, ♂; (F): N. tenuipinnis, HZM.7.40170, ♀; (G): Pipistrellus nanulus, HZM.1.40189, ♂; (H): Mimetillus moloneyi, HZM.10.40177, ♂; (I): Miniopterus inflatus, HZM.19.40182, ♂. Scale = 2 mm

FIG. 9. Skulls of two species of Glauconycteris, including lateral view of right upper incisors and occlusal view of left mandibular dentition [left] and left maxillary dentition [right] of (A): G. beatrix, HZM.1.40181, ♀ and (B): G. alboguttata, HZM.1.40172, ♀. Scales for skulls and occlusal views of toothrows (left and right) = 2 mm; scale for upper incisors (centre) = 1 mm