White-bellied yellow bat

Last updated

White-bellied yellow bat
Scotophilus leucogaster - Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria - Genoa, Italy - DSC02555.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Vespertilionidae
Genus: Scotophilus
Species:
S. leucogaster
Binomial name
Scotophilus leucogaster
Subspecies [2]
  • S. l. damarensis
  • S. l. leucogaster

The white-bellied yellow bat (Scotophilus leucogaster) or white-bellied house bat, [3] is a species of vesper bat in the genus Scotophilus , the house bats. It can be found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. It is found in dry and moist savanna and open woodland. It is a common species with a very wide range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". [1]

Contents

Description

House bats are sturdy bats with short snouts, small ears and soft woolly fur. The white-bellied yellow bat is a medium-sized species. It has a head-and-body length of about 120 mm (5 in), a tail length of about 45 mm (1.8 in), a fore-arm length of about 50 mm (2.0 in), and weighs around 20 g (0.7 oz). [4] The colouring is variable, the dorsal surface is some shade of yellow or yellowish-brown, and the ventral surface is whitish or yellowish. [3]

Distribution and habitat

The white-bellied yellow bat has a wide distribution in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its range extends from Mauritania and Senegal eastwards to Sudan and Ethiopia, and southwards to Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and probably South Africa. In the northern part of its range it occurs in various habitats including riverine woodland, wooded savanna, and among mangroves in Nigeria. In the southern half of its range it is found in miombo and mopane woodland, riverine forests, grassland, swamps and flood plains. In some areas it seems to frequent drier habitats during the wet season, and moister locations during the dry season. [4]

Behaviour

Foraging starts soon after dusk, the bats hawking for insects in clearings, between and around trees and over grassland, at heights up to about 20 m (66 ft). Often, an hour is sufficient for them to fill their stomachs, after which time they pause to digest the food before resuming hunting. They are less active on moonlit nights, avoiding open spaces, which may help avoid predation by barn owls and perhaps bat hawks. They use echolocation to find their prey, and the diet consists mainly of beetles, moths and bugs, as well as including a variety of other insects. [4] They are also carnivores, and have eaten geckos and dead bats in captivity. [4]

This bat roosts in hidden locations during the daytime; sites that have been chosen include holes in baobab trees, hollow mopane trees, the underside of dead Borassus palm fronds, and the underside of the tin roof of a house where temperatures can exceed 40 °C (104 °F). In some instances, the same roosting site was used more than once. In Sudan, the bats flew slowly and erratically if the air temperature was below 34 °C (93 °F). In Zimbabwe, breeding took place in November and December, the litter size typically being two. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kasanka National Park</span> National Park in Zambias Central Province

Kasanka National Park is a park located in the Chitambo District of Zambia’s Central Province. At roughly 390 km2 (150 sq mi), Kasanka is one of Zambia’s smallest national parks. Kasanka was the first of Zambia’s national parks to be managed by a private-public partnership. The privately funded Kasanka Trust Ltd has been in operation since 1986 and undertakes all management responsibilities, in partnership with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife. The park has an average elevation between 1,160 m (3,810 ft) and 1,290 m (4,230 ft) above mean sea level. It has a number permanent shallow lakes and water bodies with the largest being Wasa. There are five perennial rivers in the park, with the largest being the Luwombwa River. The Luwombwa is the only river that drains the NP, which flows out in the northwestern corner. It is a tributary of the Luapula, which further upstream also drains the Bangweulu Swamp and forms the main source of the Congo River. Although Kasanka NP is part of the Greater Bangweulu Ecosystem, there is no direct hydrological connection between the park and the Bangweulu Wetlands.

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

The yellow-winged bat is one of five species of false vampire bat from Africa and is the only known species of its genus, Lavia.

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

The African yellow bat is a species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae, the vesper bats. Other common names include African yellow house bat, yellow-bellied house bat, and Dingan's Bat. It is one of fifteen species in the genus Scotophilus.

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

Schreber's yellow bat or the giant house bat, is a species of vesper bat. It is found in Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, dry savanna, and moist savanna. It is an uncommon species and its biology is poorly known. It was first described in 1774 by the German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber, who named it Vespertilio nigrita. It was later transferred to the genus Scotophilus, making it Scotophilus nigrita.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern greenish yellow bat</span> Species of bat

The easterngreenish yellow bat is a species of vesper bat. It is found in Botswana, Central African Republic, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry and moist savanna.

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

The Cape serotine is a species of vesper bat occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa. 'Serotine' is from Latin 'serotinus' meaning 'of the evening'.

The Zulu serotine, also called the Zulu pipistrelle, aloe bat, or aloe serotine, is a species of vesper bat found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are savanna and hot deserts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red rock rat</span> Species of rodent

The red rock rat or red veld rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae native to southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Straw-coloured fruit bat</span> Species of mammal

The straw-coloured fruit bat is a large fruit bat that is the most widely distributed of all the African megabats. It is quite common throughout its area ranging from the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, across forest and savanna zones of sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List due to a decreasing population trend. Straw-coloured fruit bats travel in massive colonies of at least 100,000 bats and sometimes massing up to 1 million. From October to end of December every year, in the largest migration of mammals on the planet, up to 10 million straw-coloured fruit bats congregate in Kasanka National Park, Zambia, roosting in a 2 hectares area of Mushitu forest each day. This migration was only discovered in 1980. Their necks and backs are a yellowish-brown colour, while their undersides are tawny olive or brownish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peters's epauletted fruit bat</span> Species of bat

The Peters's epauletted fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitat is in riverine or evergreen forest, or moist woodland, where there are fruit-bearing trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gambian epauletted fruit bat</span> Species of bat

The Gambian epauletted fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, and Togo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and savanna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethiopian epauletted fruit bat</span> Species of bat

The Ethiopian epauletted fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Burundi, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitat is savanna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat</span> Species of bat

Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is commonly found across southern Africa.

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

The Mongalla free-tailed bat is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Sudan, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, and subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland.

<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.

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

The halcyon horseshoe bat is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae. It is found in Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, possibly Gabon, and possibly Sierra Leone. Its natural habitats are subtropical and tropical dry and moist lowland forest, moist savanna, caves, and other subterranean habitats.

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

Darling's horseshoe bat is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae found in Africa. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, caves and other subterranean habitats.

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

Rüppell's horseshoe bat is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae found in Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, savanna, caves and other subterranean habitats. This species is quite common in parts of its range, and no specific threats have been recognised, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<i>Scotophilus</i> Genus of bats

Scotophilus is a genus of vespertilionid bats commonly called yellow bats. They are found in southern Asia and Africa. They are the only members of the tribe Scotophilini.

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

Trujillo's yellow bat or Trujillo's house bat is a species of vesper bat endemic to Kenya.

References

  1. 1 2 Monadjem, A.; Griffin, M. (2017). "Scotophilus leucogaster". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T20069A22032119. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T20069A22032119.en .
  2. Simmons, N.B. (2005). "Order Chiroptera". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 466. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  3. 1 2 Stuart, Chris (2015). Stuarts' Field Guide to Mammals of Southern Africa: Including Angola, Zambia & Malawi. Penguin Random House South Africa. p. 222. ISBN   978-1-77584-266-8.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Kingdon, Jonathan; Happold, David; Butynski, Thomas; Hoffmann, Michael; Happold, Meredith; Kalina, Jan (2013). Mammals of Africa. A&C Black. pp. 676–679. ISBN   978-1-4081-8996-2.