Cardioderma cor (Peters, 1872)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Megadermatidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 182-192 : 191

2.

Heart-nosed False-vampire

Cardioderma cor

French: Mégaderme nez-en-cceur / German: Herznasenfledermaus / Spanish: Megaderma cor

Other common names: African False Vampire Bat, African Heart-nosed Bat, Heart-nosed Bat, Heart-nosed Big-eared Bat

Taxonomy. Megaderma cor Peters, 1872 ,

“Abyssinien [= Ethiopia].”

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. E Africa, from E Sudan and Eritrea S through Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, SE South Sudan, NE Uganda, and Kenya to C Tanzania; also on Unguja I ( Zanzibar Archipelago).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 70-77 mm (tailless), ear 35-40 mm, hindfoot 14— 19 mm, forearm 53-59 mm; weight 21-35 g. The Heart-nosed False-vampire has relatively short erect noseleaf, with posterior lobe widest in middle, rounded on top, and c.1-5 times taller than wide. Noseleaf is narrowest in middle, where posterior lobe connects with anterior noseleaf. Anterior noseleat is smoothly rounded in front, with no notches or folds. Posterior noseleaf has thickened ridge down middle that connects to an enlarged area between nostrils, shaped like a heart or arrowhead. Ears are very large and joined over top of head for ¢.20-30% of their length. Tragusis forked, with short rounded inner lobe and elongated pointed outer lobe less than one-half the ear length. Eyes are very large. Wings are broad, and uropatagium is well developed, with no visible bony tail. Fur is light gray to brownish gray; flight membranes, noseleaf, and ears are pinkish brown. Baculum has flattened shaft with expanded head and base. Rostrum of skull has greatly enlarged frontal shield with deep, broad, and rounded median depression, and well-developed but narrow preorbital and postorbital processes. C' lacks anterolingual cusp; P* is lacking; M' has welldeveloped mesostyle on labial side. Coronoid process of mandible is well developed, substantially taller than C,. Dental formulais10/2,C1/1,P 1/2, M 3/3 (x2) = 26.

Habitat. Dry forests and savanna, including acacia scrub, coastal moist forests, riverine forests, especially during dry season, from lowlands up to ¢. 1000 m. In Ethiopia also reported from open grassland and thorn scrub with volcanic rubble and lava blister caves.

Food and Feeding. The Heart-nosed False-vampire feeds by hanging from branches and scanning for prey. It is believed to rely mainly on passive listening for prey-generated sounds, such as footsteps or rustling of vegetation. It uses echolocation to navigate when it flies out to capture prey. It feeds mainly on large arthropods (typically more than 25 mm) such as beetles, orthopterans, cockroaches, scorpions, and centipedes. During dry season when ground is relatively bare, it perches on branches 1-2 m aboveground, twisting its body 180° in each direction to scan a circular area under the perch for prey. It switches perches regularly if no prey is found. During wet season when vegetation is thicker, it relies more on flying prey, catching species such as moths or flying beetles in the air. It sometimes captures small vertebrates such as frogs and even other species of bats. It returns to a perch to eat prey, dropping inedible parts such as wings or legs of large insects under the roost.

Breeding. Females give birth to one young after gestation estimated to be three months. Young are born blind and hairless and are carried by their mothers for several weeks. In coastal Kenya, lactating or pregnant females have been reported in most months of the year, although there is a peak of births in January at the start of the short wet season. At an inland site in Kenya, most females gave birth at the beginning of the long wet season in March-April and the short wet season in November.

Activity patterns. Heart-nosed False-vampires rest during the day but can remain alert in the roost, presumably looking for predators. They hunt for food at night and start becoming active at sunset but do not emerge from their roosts until ¢.30 minutes later. They are not known to use torpor or hibernate. Selection of day roosts varies geographically, depending on availability. In dry savanna, most commonly reported roost is in hollow trees, especially baobab ( Adansonia , Malvaceae ), but they have also been found in unused huts or houses and inside an outhouse. In other areas, they regularly use caves. In Ethiopia, they have also been reported in ash flow tuft blisters (cavities in volcanic rock). Echolocation pulses used for navigation are very short (1-3 milliseconds) FM calls, with average interpulse interval of 48 milliseconds. Most energy is in the second and third harmonics, with peak energy in second harmonic at c.49 kHz, which has typical bandwidth of ¢.22 kHz sweeping from 62 kHz to 40 kHz. First harmonic (fundamental) is usually much softer and still above human hearing (30-20 kHz). Predation by a snake has been reported, and it is likely that various mammals might also attempt to catch bats at roosts.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Heartnosed False-vampires roost in colonies of a few to more than 100 individuals. Colonies may change over time. Each night, bats fly from their roosts to foraging territories of 0-1-1 ha that may be 0-4-1-2 km from the roost tree. They defend their territories with loud songs that are quite distinct from their echolocation calls. The song is emitted through the mouth and consists of a series of 4-9 pulses within one second, repeated several times per minute, sometimes throughout much of the night. Frequencies of each pulse are 6-20 kHz, with peak energy at c.12 kHz, and songs can be heard by humans up to 100-200 m away. Males appear to sing most often, and songs vary seasonally. Females share a male’s territory, at least during some times of year, and might return to the same territory in subsequent years suggesting a long-term pair bond. Both members of the pair perch next to each other while foraging. Heartnosed False-vampires also have a low-frequency call given occasionally during flight that might have a social function. They usually do not share roosts with other species.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. There are no quantitative data on population trends, but suitable habitat has likely declined.

Bibliography. Csada (1996), Kafiuch et al. (2015), Kingdon (1974), McWilliam (1987b), Ryan & Tuttle (1987), Vaughan (1976).

Figures

1. Yellow-winged False-vampire (Lavia frons), 2. Heart-nosed False-vampire (Cardioderma cor), 3. Lesser Asian False-vampire (Megaderma spasma), 4. Greater Asian False-vampire (Lyroderma lyra)

Distribution. E Africa, from E Sudan and Eritrea S through Ethiopia , Djibouti , Somalia , SE South Sudan , NE Uganda , and Kenya to C Tanzania ; also on Unguja I ( Zanzibar Archipelago).