African long-fingered bat

Last updated

African long-fingered bat
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Miniopteridae
Genus: Miniopterus
Species:
M. africanus
Binomial name
Miniopterus africanus
Sanborn, 1936

The African long-fingered bat (Miniopterus africanus) is a species of vesper bat in the family Miniopteridae. It is found only in Kenya. It is found in subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. This species is often considered a synonym of Miniopterus inflatus . [1] The holotype was collected in October 1926 by A. M. Bailey. It was described as a new species in 1936 by Colin Campbell Sanborn. [2]

Contents

Description

It is similar in appearance to the Natal long-fingered bat, but it is much larger. Its dorsal fur is light brown, with the bases of individual hairs darker than their tips. Its ventral fur is lighter than the dorsal fur, with individual hairs brown at the base and gray at the tip. Its forearm is 48.4–50.5 mm (1.91–1.99 in) long. The greatest length of the skull is 16.6–17 mm (0.65–0.67 in) long. [2]

Biology

It is known to be infected with the parasite Polychromophilus melanipherus , which helps support the hypothesis that Haemosporidiasina transitioned from avian hosts to bat hosts in a single evolutionary event. The 2016 study concluded that it was likely that malaria parasites affecting humans and rodents evolved from parasites affecting bats. [3]

The African long-fingered bat's evolutionary lineage diverged from other long-fingered bats approximately 20 million years ago. [4]

In 2013, an individual from this species tested positive for polyomaviruses. However, bats are unlikely to be the source of polyomavirus infection in humans, as none of the lineages found in bats so far is known to infect humans. [5]

Range and habitat

It has only been documented in Kenya. [1] Its type locality is Sanford's Ranch in Mulo, Kenya, which is to the northwest of Addis Ababa. It was collected at 8,000 m (26,000 ft) above sea level. [2] It has been documented roosting in limestone-rich coral caves on the eastern coast of the country. [6]

Conservation

It is currently evaluated as data deficient by the IUCN. [1] Some of the caves that it roosts in are threatened by human activities, such as burning and cutting vegetation growing at the mouths of the caves. Some Kenyans do not understand that bats are important, and may view them as a nuisance or take direct actions to harm them. Caves are also threatened by expanding human population. Kenyans that live near the coastal caves have an overwhelmingly negative view of bats, with 58% of respondents to a questionnaire viewing them as a sign of witchcraft or a bad omen, and 68% thinking that bats are not beneficial in any way. Conversely, this negative perception of the bats may protect them in some way, as one landowner who owned a cave where the African long-fingered bat roosts reported that she did not allow people to enter the cave as she feared it would bring bad omens onto her. This attitude protects the bats in the cave from human disturbance. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spectral bat</span> Species of bat

The spectral bat, also called the great false vampire bat or Linnaeus's false vampire bat, is a large, carnivorous leaf-nosed bat found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. It is the only member of the genus Vampyrum; its closest living relative is the big-eared woolly bat. It is the largest bat species in the New World, as well as the largest carnivorous bat: its wingspan is 0.7–1.0 m (2.3–3.3 ft). It has a robust skull and teeth, with which it delivers a powerful bite to kill its prey. Birds are frequent prey items, though it may also consume rodents, insects, and other bats.

The lesser long-fingered bat, also known as the black clinging bat or lesser bent-winged bat, is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is found in western Southern Africa, south East Africa, and parts of Central Africa. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, and caves and other subterranean habitats.

The Southeast Asian long-fingered bat is a species of vesper bat in the family [Miniopteridae]]. It is endemic to Japan and has been assessed as endangered by the IUCN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater long-fingered bat</span> Species of bat

The greater long-fingered bat is a species in the family Miniopteridae. It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. It roosts in caves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manavi long-fingered bat</span> A bat in the genus Miniopterus that occurs in east-central Madagascar

The Manavi long-fingered bat is a bat in the genus Miniopterus that occurs in east-central Madagascar. First described in 1906, this species was later included in the mainland African M. minor. A 1995 revision united populations of small Miniopterus from Madagascar and the Comoros as M. manavi, but molecular and morphological studies in 2008 and 2009 showed that this concept of M. manavi in fact included five different species. M. manavi itself was restricted to a few locations in the eastern Central Highlands and populations in the Comoros and northern and western Madagascar were allocated to different species.

The least long-fingered bat is a species of vesper bat in the family Miniopteridae. It can be found in the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Tanzania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natal long-fingered bat</span> Species of bat

The Natal long-fingered bat is a species of vesper bat in the family Miniopteridae. It can be found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, possibly Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is found in dry savanna, moist savanna, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, caves, and hot deserts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common bent-wing bat</span> Species of mammal

The common bent-wing bat, also known as the Schreibers's long-fingered bat or Schreibers's bat, is a species of insectivorous bat. They appear to have dispersed from a subtropical origin and distributed throughout the southern Palearctic, Ethiopic, Oriental, and Australian regions. In Europe, it is present in the southern half on the continent from Iberia to the Caucasus, with the largest populations found in the warmer Mediterranean area. The common and scientific names honor Carl Franz Anton Ritter von Schreibers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hildegarde's tomb bat</span> Species of bat

Hildegarde's tomb bat is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae. It is found near the coast in Kenya and Tanzania where it feeds in tropical dry forests and roosts in caves. It is a diurnal species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being endangered. The specific name hildegardeae was given in honour of anthropologist Hildegarde Beatrice Hinde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midas free-tailed bat</span> Species of bat

The Midas free-tailed bat is a species of bat scientifically classified in the order Chiroptera and the family Molossidae. It is distributed from western Africa to Saudi Arabia and further south. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, woodlands and hot deserts. The more southern are also known to live around large rivers or the swamps.

<i>Miniopterus</i> Genus of bats

Miniopterus, known as the bent-winged or long winged bats, is the sole genus of the family Miniopteridae. They are small flying insectivorous mammals, micro-bats of the order Chiroptera, with wings over twice the length of the body. The genus had been placed in its own subfamily among the vespertilionid bats, as Miniopterinae, but is now classified as its own family.

<i>Miniopterus griveaudi</i> Bat in the family Miniopteridae from the Comoros and Madagascar

Miniopterus griveaudi is a bat in the genus Miniopterus found on Grande Comore and Anjouan in the Comoros and in northern and western Madagascar. First described in 1959 from Grande Comore as a subspecies of the mainland African M. minor, it was later placed with the Malagasy M. manavi. However, morphological and molecular studies published in 2008 and 2009 indicated that M. manavi as then defined contained five distinct, unrelated species, and M. griveaudi was redefined as a species occurring on both Madagascar and the Comoros.

<i>Miniopterus mahafaliensis</i> A bat in the genus Miniopterus that occurs in southwestern Madagascar

Miniopterus mahafaliensis is a bat in the genus Miniopterus that occurs in southwestern Madagascar. Populations of this species have historically been included in Miniopterus manavi, but molecular data published in 2008 and 2009 indicate that this supposed species in fact consists of five separate species, including the newly described M. mahafaliensis. The species has been found in dry, spiny, and gallery forest, as well as more open habitats, in southwestern Madagascar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peterson's long-fingered bat</span> Species of bat

Peterson's long-fingered bat is a bat in the genus Miniopterus which occurs in southeast Madagascar. It was described by Steven M. Goodman et al. in 2008. While M. petersoni is similar to M. sororculus, the two species are not closely related to each other, and possess a number of differing external and cranial characteristics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Griffith's long-fingered bat</span> Species of bat

Griffith's long-fingered bat is a bat in the genus Miniopterus which occurs in southern Madagascar. M. griffithsi was previously a part of the largest family of bats, the Vespertilionidae, which consist of five subfamilies. The bat family Miniopteridae is widely distributed, ranging from the majority of sub-Saharan Africa to north Africa and Eurasia, as well as southern and southeastern Asia and Australia. Typical features of these bats include elongated third fingers, long narrow wings giving them a pointed shape when in flight, and a bent shape when folded, adding to the common name of bent-wing bats. M. griffithsi is similar to its sister species Miniopterus gleni, which lives north of the Onilahy River, while M. giffithsi lives south of it. Researchers first discovered that M. griffithsi was separate from M. gleni based on phylogeographic studies of the latter.

The genus Polychromophilus consists of obligate intracellular eukaryotic parasites that infect bats from every continent except Antarctica. They are transmitted by bat flies, which act as an insect vector as well as the parasite’s site of sporogeny. Polychromophilus follows a fairly typical Haemospororidian lifecycle, with gametocytes and gametes restricted to the bloodstream of the host and meronts infecting organs – most notably the lungs and the liver. The type species is Polychromophilus melanipherus, and was described by Dionisi in 1898.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African trident bat</span> Species of bat

The African trident bat is a species of bat found in Africa.

Miniopterus newtoni is a species of bat that is endemic to São Tomé and Príncipe.

<i>Miniopterus sororculus</i> Species of bat

Miniopterus sororculus is a species of bat endemic to the highland forests of Madagascar.

Miniopterus maghrebensis, also known as the Maghrebian bent-wing bat, is a species of bat found in North Africa.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Waldien, D.L.; Webala, P. (2020). "Miniopterus africanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T44859A22073089. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T44859A22073089.en . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Sanborn, Colin Campbell. Descriptions and records of African bats. Zoological series. Vol. 20. Field Museum of Natural History. pp. 111–112. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  3. Lutz, H. L.; Patterson, B. D.; Peterhans, J. C. K.; Stanley, W. T.; Webala, P. W.; Gnoske, T. P.; Hackett, S.J.; Stanhope, M. J. (2016). "Diverse sampling of East African haemosporidians reveals chiropteran origin of malaria parasites in primates and rodents". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 99: 7–15. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.03.004. PMID   26975691.
  4. Farkašová, H.; Hron, T.; Pačes, J.; Hulva, P.; Benda, P.; Gifford, R. J.; Elleder, D. (2017). "Discovery of an endogenous Deltaretrovirus in the genome of long-fingered bats (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae)". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114 (12): 3145–3150. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1621224114 . PMC   5373376 . PMID   28280099.
  5. Tao, Ying; Shi, Mang; Conrardy, Christina; Kuzmin, Ivan V.; Recuenco, Sergio; Agwanda, Bernard; Alvarez, Danilo A.; Ellison, James A.; Gilbert, Amy T.; Moran, David; Niezgoda, Michael; Lindblade, Kim A.; Holmes, Edward C.; Breiman, Robert F.; Rupprecht, Charles E.; Tong, Suxiang (2013). "Discovery of diverse polyomaviruses in bats and the evolutionary history of the Polyomaviridae". Journal of General Virology. 4 (94): 738–748. doi: 10.1099/vir.0.047928-0 . PMC   7346582 . PMID   23239573.
  6. 1 2 Makori, B. (2015). Survey and Conservation of Cave-Dwelling Bats in Coastal Kenya (PDF) (Report). Karatina, Kenya: Karatina University, School of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies. Retrieved October 9, 2017.