279.

Lesser Yellow Bat

Scotophilus borbonicus

French: Scotophile de Bourbon / German: Kleine Hausfledermaus / Spanish: Scotofilo de la Isla de Reunion

Other common names: Lesser Yellow House Bat, Bourbon Bat

Taxonomy. Vespertilio borbonicus E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803,

Ile Bourbon [= Réunion Island], Réunion.

See S. robustus . The name borbonicus is restricted to the Réunion Island form. Monotypic.

Distribution. Confirmed from Réunion I; in Madagascar, known only from a single specimen collected in the SW, butthis record cannot be confirmed; records from Mauritius are erroneous.

Descriptive notes. Forearm 51 mm (one specimen). The Lesser Yellow Bat is known from only one individual in very poor condition. Dorsum of the specimen is apparently reddish brown, and venteris whitish, which matches original description by E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1803.

Habitat. No information.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Some echolocation calls of two unidentified bats were recorded during fieldwork on Réunion. Signals of one call from “ Chiroptera spl” (QFC = 60 kHz and FM = 61 kHz) were very similar to those of Madagascan and African continental species of Scotophilus, suggesting that it might have been the Lesser Yellow Bat.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red Last.

Bibliography. ACR (2017), Barataud & Giosa (2013a), Dorst (1947), Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1803), Goodman, Jenkins & Ratrimomanarivo (2005), Jentink (1888), Hill (1980b), ICZN (2002b), Koopman (1986), Robbins et al. (1985), Simmons (2005).