Rediscovery of Glauconycteris superba Hayman, 1939 (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) after 40 years at Mbiye Island, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

We report the rediscovery of the pied butterfly bat, Glauconycteris superba Hayman, 1939, 40 years after this species was last recorded. The new specimen from Mbiye Island, Democratic Republic of the Congo, is compared with the type specimens of G. s. superba and G. superba sheila Hayman, 1947 and a specimen from Matonguiné, Ivory Coast. The variation in the striking colouration of the pelage as well as in morphometric data is considered to be individual rather than geographic variation and we tentatively regard G. s. sheila as a synonym of the nominate form. Despite the wide distribution of this species in the tropical forest zone of West and Central Africa, only four specimens from four localities are known to date, which might indicate very specific habitat preferences. Contemporary land cover information around historic collection sites shows degraded landscapes. Given the highly uncertain area of occupancy of this species, we suggest changing the status of G. superba in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species from "Least Concern" to "Data Deficient"

A new Pipistrelle bat from the oceanic Island of Príncipe (Western Central Africa)

“…The morphological traits and their abbreviations are as follows: body weight (W, expressed in g); whole body length (HBL); tail length (TL); forearm length (FA); hind foot length, including claws (HF); tibia length (TIB); ear length (EAR); tragus length (TRA); third finger metacarp (3FM); third finger phalange (3FPH1); forth finger metacarp (4FM); forth finger phalange (4FPH1); fifth finger metacarp (5FM); fifth finger phalange (5FPH1); greatest length of skull, excluding incisors (GLS); condylo-basal length (CBL); condylo-canine length (CCL); palatal length (PL); maxillary toothrow length (CM 3 ); width across the upper molars (M 3 M 3 ); width across the upper canines (C 1 C 1 ); zygomatic breadth (ZB); greatest braincase width (GBW); greatest mandible length excluding incisors (MAND); postorbital width (POB); rostrum width (RW); maxillary toothrow length (CM 3 ); distance from the 3rd upper molar to the upper incisor (IM 3 ); mandibular toothrow length (CM 3 ), lower dental raw (IM 3 ); upper molar series (molars + premolar; SPM). More detailed definitions of these measurements are found in Ruedi et al (2012) and Tungaluna et al (2013) . Dentition morphology was studied in detail and the teeth for each individual were carefully measured with a Zeiss 2 stereo microscope under 1.6× to 6× magnifications.…”