Mops petersoni (El Rayah, 1981)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Molossidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 598-672 : 656

87.

Peterson’s Free-tailed Bat

Mops petersoni

French: Tadaride de Peterson / German: Peterson-Bulldogfledermaus / Spanish: Mops de Peterson

Other common names: Peterson's Mops Bat

Taxonomy. Tadarida (Xiphonycteris) petersoni EI-Rayah, 1981,

15 km S Kumba, Cameroon.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from one locality in Ghana and five in Cameroon.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 66 mm, tail 27 mm, ear 19 mm, hindfoot 9 mm (all details from male holotype), forearm 32-35 mm. Fur is short and sparse, covering rump but not extending onto uropatagium, dark sepia-brown above with no grizzling or spots, pale brown to dark beige below becoming paler mid-ventrally but with no mid-ventral markings or contrasting ventral flank-stripe. Upper lip has five well-defined wrinkles on each side and many spoon-hairs. Wings and uropatagium are blackish brown. Ears are blackish brown and relatively short (extending halfway along muzzle when laid flat), inner margins connected by interaural band of skin having knob-like protuberance and backward-facing pocket but no interaural crest. Tragusis small, subrectangular, and concealed by antitragus which is large and roughly rectangular. Anterior palate is narrowly emarginated, and basisphenoid pits are moderately deep. As is typical for Mops , cusps on M? have third ridge much reduced. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 48 and FNa = 54.

Habitat. .owland rainforest.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Peterson’s Free-tailed Bat is nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. The species nearly qualifies as Vulnerable, as it is rare and has been recorded from few locations in highly fragmented habitats that are undergoing further degradation, due to shifting agriculture and wood harvesting.

Bibliography. ACR (2017), EI-Rayah (1981), Happold, M. (2013an).

Figures

14. Bonda Mastiff Bat (Molossus currentium), 15. Fenton’s Masuft Bat (Molossus fentoni), 17. Pallas’s Mastiff Bat (Molossus molossus), 18. Miller’s Mastiff Bat (Molossus pretiosus), 19. Black Mastiff Bat (Molossus rufus)

Distribution. Known only from one locality in Ghana and five in Cameroon .