Rhinolophus cohenae, Peter J. Taylor & Samantha Stoffberg & Ara Monadjem & Martinus Corrie Schoeman & Julian Baylis & Fenton P. D. Cotterill, 2012

Peter J. Taylor, Samantha Stoffberg, Ara Monadjem, Martinus Corrie Schoeman, Julian Baylis & Fenton P. D. Cotterill, 2012, Four New Bat Species (Rhinolophus hildebrandtii Complex) Reflect Plio-Pleistocene Divergence of Dwarfs and Giants across an Afromontane Archipelago, PLoS ONE 7 (9), pp. 1-23 : 16-17

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.1371/journal.pone.0041744

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:90004C93-59CE-484B-949A-66B98EAC94B2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4328641

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D0E1C9DD-7D36-4C01-AE0D-60AD474960A0

taxon LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:act:D0E1C9DD-7D36-4C01-AE0D-60AD474960A0

treatment provided by

Tatiana

scientific name

Rhinolophus cohenae
status

sp. nov.

Rhinolophus cohenae View in CoL new species urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D0E1C9DD-7D36-4C01-AE0D-60AD474960A0

Cohen’s Horseshoe Bat

Fig. 4, 4 View Figure 4 , Fig. S1 View Figure 1 , Table 3, 4, Table S1, Appendix S1

Holotype. DM 8626 ; adult male, alcohol skin, skull and prepared baculum ( Fig. 9f View Figure 9 ), collected by L. Cohen, 28 September 2004. Skull and mandible in good condition. GoogleMaps

Type locality. Barberton, Mountainland Nature Reserve, 68 km SE Sudwala, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, 25 ° 43 ' 8 " S; 31 ° 15 ' 58 " E; elevation 690 m asl.

Diagnosis. Lowest recorded peak frequency (33.0 kHz in the holotype; mean 32.8±0.24 kHz, n = 7 in type series) which immediately distinguishes this species from all others. Noseleaf extremely wide, 13.5–16.3 mm (15.5 mm in holotype), exceeding the previously described range (12–15) for the species [ 12]. Body size and cranial size very large ( Table 5; FL 66–68 mm; holotype 65.9 mm; GSL 29–30 mm; CCL 24–26 mm; holotype 29.9 mm and 25.6 mm respectively). In body and cranial size this species overlaps with mabuensis ; however the latter species has a distinct echolocation frequency (ca 38 kHz) and a distinct baculum (‘‘ Type 2’’). Anterior upper premolar conspicuous and located within tooth row or entirely absent. In the holotype and in three additional specimens, the anterior premolar is prominent and located within the toothrow. In another three specimens, the anterior premolar is absent (and the canine and posterior premolar in contact). In another specimen the prominent anterior premolar is situated in the toothrow on the right side but absent on the left side, leaving a small gap between canine and posterior premolar. In no cases were specimens found to have small anterior premolars situated external to the toothrow, thus distinguishing this species from hildebrandtii s.s. [ 12]. The baculum (total length 3.5 mm in holotype) has a unique shape (‘‘ Type 1’’; Fig. 9 View Figure 9 ) characterised by narrow, laterally compressed and ventrally deflected shaft, emarginated distal portion and spatulate tip, which is not found in other species of the hildebrandtii complex in which the baculum has been described ( mossambicus and mabuensis ). Genotypes of R.cohenae are members of Clade 1a ( Fig. 2 View Figure 2 ).

Paratypes. DM 7886 (adult male, alcohol skin and skull, collected by L. Cohen on 27 September 2004 from type locality), DM11620 , DM 11919 , DM 11918 (adult males, alcohol skin and skull, collected by S. Stoffberg and L. Cohen on 27 September 2009) .

Description. Dorsal and ventral colour similar to R. hildebrandtii s.s., but larger in noseleaf, skull and external dimensions as described above. The noseleaf shows the typical low, rounded shape of the connecting process in lateral view, in the holotype ( Fig. 8b View Figure 8 ) and in other specimens examined (e.g. Fig. 8a View Figure 8 ). Lower lip with single mental groove. The robust skull is represented in the mean cranial dimensions ( Table 5; Fig. 5 View Figure 5 ). In lateral view the skull has a prominent rostral chamber that extends to the same height as the sagittal crest; albeit the cranium is distinctly elongated and flattened in lateral profile ( Fig. 6 View Figure 6 ). In dorsal view the V-shaped inter-orbital basin formed by the supraorbital ridges is very prominent, with the anterior root of the sagittal crest displaced posteriorly ( Fig. 6 View Figure 6 ).

Distribution. Known only from three closely-spaced localities in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa in the vicinity of Nelspruit.

Ecology. The type locality of Barberton is located in the Savanna Biome [ 114] at 690 m, close to the border of the Grassland Biome. Two nearby additional localities (Sudwala and Mayo Mines) are located in the Grassland Biome (Mesic Highveld Grassland) at altitudes between 900 and 1100 m.

Etymology. We selected the specific epithet to recognize Lientjie Cohen who collected the type specimen. She has contributed significantly to the conservation of bats in South Africa, particularly in Mpumalanga Province. The species name combines the surname Cohen and genitive singular case-ending ‘‘ae’’ indicative of feminine gender.

Specimens examined. See Table S1.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Chiroptera

Family

Rhinolophidae

Genus

Rhinolophus

GBIF Dataset (for parent article) Darwin Core Archive (for parent article) View in SIBiLS Plain XML RDF