Maendeleo horseshoe bat
| Maendeleo horseshoe bat | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Rhinolophidae |
| Genus: | Rhinolophus |
| Species: | R. maendeleo
|
| Binomial name | |
| Rhinolophus maendeleo Kock, Csorba & Howell, 2000
| |
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| Maendeleo horseshoe bat range | |
The Maendeleo horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus maendeleo) is a species of Tanzanian bats in the family Rhinolophidae.
Taxonomy
[edit]Rhinolophus maendeleo was described in 2000 by Dieter Kock, Gábor Csorba, and Kim Howell.[2] Its closest relatives may be the Adam's horseshoe bat and the Namuli horseshoe bat, but genetic data is lacking for a definitive analysis.[3] Within the genus Rhinolophus (the horseshoe bats), Kock et al assign it to a new group adami along with the eponymous species R. adami (Adam's horseshoe bat), also recognized by Demos et al (2019).[2][4] On the other hand, F. P. D. Cotterill assigns it to the existing capensis group in a 2002 taxonomic analysis.[5] The group was defined on the basis of morphological data only due to a lack of genetic data.[3]
The species name maendeleo is from Swahili for "progress", intended as an allusion to the improvements made in understanding Tanzanian bats.[2]
Habitat and conservation status
[edit]The Maendeleo horseshoe bat inhabits caves of the Coastal Lowland forests of Tanzania. As of 2018, the bat has only been definitively identified in two locations, Amboni Cave Forest, Mkulumuzi River Gorge, Tanga District (the type locality), and Mzaumbai Forest Reserve, Usambara Mountains.[1] A 2010 bat inventory in Mozambique caught two specimens provisionally identified as R. maendeleo at Mount Namuli, but the species identification was uncertain due to minor differences from the holotype specimen.[6] Later reanalysis found that these specimens actually represented a new species, Rhinolophus namuli, the Namuli horseshoe bat.[3]
As of 2025[update], its conservation status is currently evaluated as data deficient by the IUCN.[1]
Description
[edit]Rhinolophus maendeleo is a medium sized bat, with a forearm length of approximately 48 millimetres (1.9 in). It has a brown back fading to white on the lower stomach and loins, with a darker brown "collar" around the neck and upper chest. It has large ears with blunt tips.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Cooper-Bohannon, R. (2020). "Rhinolophus maendeleo". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T44783A22067758. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T44783A22067758.en. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d Kock, D.; Csorba, G.; Howell, K. M. (2000). "Rhinolophus maendeleo n. sp. from Tanzania, a horseshoe bat noteworthy for its systematics and biogeography (Mammalia, Chiroptera, Rhinolophidae)". Senckenbergiana Biologica. 80 (1): 233–240.
- ^ a b c Curran, Michael; Kopp, Mirjam; Ruedi, Manuel; Bayliss, Julian (2022-08-18). "A New Species of Horseshoe Bat (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) from Mount Namuli, Mozambique". Acta Chiropterologica. 24 (1). doi:10.3161/15081109ACC2022.24.1.002. ISSN 1508-1109.
- ^ Demos, Terrence C.; Webala, Paul W.; Goodman, Steven M.; Kerbis Peterhans, Julian C.; Bartonjo, Michael; Patterson, Bruce D. (2019-08-22). "Molecular phylogenetics of the African horseshoe bats (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae): expanded geographic and taxonomic sampling of the Afrotropics". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 19 (1): 166. Bibcode:2019BMCEE..19..166D. doi:10.1186/s12862-019-1485-1. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 6704657. PMID 31434566.
- ^ Cotterill, F. P. D. (5 February 2002). "A new species of horseshoe bat (Microchiroptera: Rhinolophidae) from south-central Africa: with comments on its affinities and evolution, and the characterization of rhinolophid species". Journal of Zoology. 256 (2): 165–179. doi:10.1017/S0952836902000201. ISSN 1469-7998.
- ^ Monadjem, Ara; Schoeman, M. Corrie; Reside, April; Pio, Dorothea V.; Stoffberg, Samantha; Bayliss, Julian; Cotterill, F. P. D. (Woody); Curran, Michael; Kopp, Mirjam; Taylor, Peter J. (2010-12-30). "A recent inventory of the bats of Mozambique with documentation of seven new species for the country". Acta Chiropterologica. 12 (2): 371–391. doi:10.3161/150811010X537963.