Rhinolophus maclaudi, Pousargues, 1897

Burgin, Connor, 2019, Rhinolophidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 280-332 : 298

35 . Maclaud’s Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus maclaudi

French: Rhinolophe de Maclaud / German: Maclaud-Hufeisennase / Spanish: Herradura de Maclaud

Taxonomy. Rhinolophus maclaudi Pousargues, 1897 ,

“ L’ile de Conakry [= Conakry Island], sur les côtes de la Guinée française [= on the coast of French Guinea], ” Guinea.

Rhinolophus maclaudi is in the maclaudi species group with R ziama , R hilli , R kahuzi , R willardi , and R ruwenzorii . Systematic position of the maclaudi group is still debated, but this clade seems to be closely related to the ferrumequinum and hildebrandtii groups in the Afro-Palearctic clade. Monotypic.

Distribution. W Guinea along slopes of Fouta Djallon Highlands as far N as Gessorewoul River and S to near Sierra Leone border and including Conakry I.

Descriptive notes. Head-body c. 73-94 mm, tail 38-43 mm, ear 40-46 mm, hindfoot 15 mm, forearm 64-69 mm; weight 30-33 g. Maclaud’s Horseshoe Bat is very large, on average the largest Rhinolophus in Africa. Dorsal pelage is pale chestnut to grayish brown (hairs are slightly paler basally); venter is paler. No orange morph has been reported. Males lack axillary tufts. Ears are very long (61-70% of forearm length), with 10-12 internal folds. Noseleaf has subtriangular lancet, with pointed tip, conspicuously higher than sella; connecting process is largely reduced, low, and concave, leaving very deep cap between sella and lancet; sella is naked, rising forward, and almost parallel-sided; narial lobes are very well developed and enlarged, forming heart-shaped, corolla-like cup; nostrils are bordered with raised, almost straight rims, that reach near anterior margin ofhorseshoe; and horseshoe is broad at 15-16 mm, covers entire muzzle, and has no lateral leaflets and very small or absent median emargination. Lower lip has one medial groove. Wings and uropatagium are dark gray. Skull is large but slender, with comparatively weak zygomatic arches that are dorsally notched (zygomatic width is subequal to or only slighdy greater than mastoid width); rostrum is robust; nasal swellings are high domed; frontal depression is very deep; braincase is constricted behind mastoid process when viewed dorsally; sagittal crest is moderately developed anteriorly and poorly developed posteriorly; and interpterygoid groove is very deep. P2 is small but in tooth row or slightly displaced labially, which separates C1 and P4; P3 is small and conspicuously displaced labially; and P, and P4 are touching or separate.

Habitat. Woodland /brushland savanna intersected by gallery forest along rivers.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Day roosts of Maclaud’s Horseshoe Bats have been found in caves, although one specimen was collected in a house.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Maclaud’s Horseshoe Bat roosts singly or in small groups in caves, with one cave reported with six individuals (three females and three males) and another with two individuals. Day roosts have been shared with small colonies of Angolan Soft-furred Fruit Bats ( Lissonycteris angolensis smithii ), Large-eared Slit-faced Bats ( Nycteris macrotis ), Guinean Horseshoe Bats (A guzn ^ mtis), Rùppell’s Horseshoe Bats (A / umigutus), Dent’s Horseshoe Bats ( A denti ), and large, mixed colonies of Noack’s Leaf-nosed Bats (Hipposideros ruber) andJones’s Leaf-nosed Bats (H.jonesi).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Maclaud’s Horseshoe Bat is known from very few specimens in a small known area of occupancy and appears to be threatened by habitat loss and possibly overharvesting for bushmeat.

Bibliography. ACR (2018), Csorba eta/. (2003), Fahr (2008a, 2013g), Fahr eta/. (2002), Weber & Fahr (2007 b).

Figures

On following pages: 27. African Forest Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus silvestris); 28. Upland Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hillorum); 29. Sakeji Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus sakejiensis); 30. Bokhara Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus bocharicus); 31. Greater Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum); 32. Geoffrey's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus clivosus); 33. Greater Japanese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus nippon); 34. Horacek's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus horaceki); 35. Maclaud's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus maclaudi); 36. Ziama Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ziama); 37. Hill's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hilli); 38. Kahuzi Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus kahuzi); 39. Willard's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus willardi); 40. Ruwenzori Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ruwenzorii); 41. Chinese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus xinanzhongguoensis); 42. Big-eared Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus macrotis); 43. Osgood's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus osgoodi); 44. Allen's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus episcopus); 45. Thai Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus siamensis); 46, Schnitzler's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus schnitzten); M. King Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus rex); 48. Marshall’s Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus marshalli).

Distribution. W Guinea along slopes of Fouta Djallon Highlands as far N as Gessorewoul River and S to near Sierra Leone border and including Conakry I.