Anjouan myotis

Anjouan myotis
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Vespertilionidae
Genus:	Myotis
Species:	M. anjouanensis
Binomial name
Myotis anjouanensis Dorst, 1960
Anjouan myotis range
Synonyms
Myotis goudoti anjouanensis Dorst, 1960

The Anjouan myotis (Myotis anjouanensis) is a species of vesper bat. It is found only in Comoros.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 1960 by French zoologist Jean Dorst. ^[2] Dorst described the species based on specimens that had been collected by Léon Humblot in 1886. It has variably been considered a subspecies of the Malagasy mouse-eared bat. ^[3] However, in 1995 and 2005, it was published as a full species. ^[4] The species name "anjouanensis" means "belonging to Anjouan"—the island where the holotype was collected. ^[3]

Range and habitat

It is found only on Anjouan island of the Comoros. ^[1] The individual observed in 2006 was captured flying through a tunnel surrounded by "heavily disturbed forest" and agricultural plots. ^[3]

Conservation

As of 2019, it is evaluated as a data deficient species by the IUCN. ^[1] It is a rarely-observed species. A single individual was captured in 2006, representing perhaps the first documentation of this species in over 120 years. ^[3]

References

1. Jacobs, D. (2019). "Myotis anjouanensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019 e.T44863A22073545. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T44863A22073545.en .
2. Dorst, J. (1960). "Description d'un nouveau chiroptere des Comores, du genre Myotis". Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. 2 (31): 475–476.
3. Goodman, S. M.; Weyeneth, N.; Ibrahim, Y.; Saïd, I.; Ruedi, M. (2010). "A review of the bat fauna of the Comoro Archipelago". Acta Chiropterologica. 12 (1): 129–130. doi:10.3161/150811010X504635. S2CID   84130992.
4. Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.