Miniopterus villiersi, Aellen, 1956

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Miniopteridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 674-709 : 703

18.

Villiers’s Long-fingered Bat

Miniopterus villiersi

French: Minioptere de Villiers / German: Villiers-Langflligelfledermaus / Spanish: Miniéptero de Villiers

Other common names: Villiers's Bent-winged Bat

Taxonomy. Miniopterus inflatus villiersi Aellen, 1956 ,

“grotte du Marché, Dalaba, Guiné francaise [= Guinea].”

Initially described as subspecies of M. inflatus . Later, two species were found in Upper Guinea; M. villiersi was the smallest and was moved to the schreibersii complex.

Recent genetic evidence supports its species rank. Monotypic.

Distribution. Restricted to Upper Guinea forest zone, in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

Descriptive notes. Tail 48-56 mm, hindfoot 8:5-10 mm, forearm 42-44-5 mm. Villiers’s Long-fingered Bat is similar similar but smaller than the Greater Long-fingered Bat ( M. inflatus ) from Cameroon. Pelage is uniformly blackish brown. Wing and tail membranes and ears are grayish brown. Ears are small, with distal part of tragus unpigmented and whitish in eight specimens used for the species description, although this characteristic is not mentioned anymore in the literature.

Habitat. Closed lowland rainforests, forest edges, and tree savannas and also hilltop dry forests and submontane grasslands at elevations of 200-1350 m (mostly 460-900 m). Most roosts of Villiers’s Long-fingered Bats are found on slopes and ridges of submontane forests, and they fly along creeks to forage at lower elevations.

Food and Feeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but other long-fingered bats mainly eat soft insects captured in flight.

Breeding. Two female Villiers’s Long-fingered Bats caught in mid-March carried single embryos with 12 mm and 14 mm crown-rump lengths.

Activity patterns. Villiers’s Long-fingered Bat is thought to be nocturnal. It roosts in caves, old mines, tunnels, and probably rock crevices during the day.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. Villiers’s Long-fingered Bat was separated from Schreibers’s Long-fingered Bat ( M. schreibersii ), which is classified as Near Threatened.

Bibliography. Aellen (1956), Decher, Hoffmann et al. (2016), Decher, Norris & Fahr (2010), Eger (2013b), Fahr et al. (2006), Koopman et al. (1995), Monadjem, Richards & Denys (2016), Reardon & Schoeman (2017), Schaer et al. (2013).

Figures

18. Villiers’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus villiersi), 19. Greater Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus inflatus), 20. Newton's Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus newtoni), 21. Least Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus minor), 22. Sandy Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus arenarius), 23. African Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus africanus), 24. Natal Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus natalensis), 25. Mozambican Long-fingered Bat (Muniopterus mossambicus), 26. Lesser Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus fraterculus), 27. Aellen’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus aelleni), 28. Griveaud’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus griveaudi), 29. Glen’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus gleni), 30. Madagascar Long-fingered Bat (Manaopterus brachytragos), 31. Montagne d’Ambre Long-fingered Bat (Minaiopterus ambohitrenss), 32. Major’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus majori), 33. Eger’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus egent), 34. Manavil Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus manai), 35. Sororcula Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus sororculus), 36. Peterson’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus petersoni), 37. Mahafaly Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus mahafaliensis), 38. Griffiths’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus griffiths)

Distribution. Restricted to Upper Guinea forest zone, in Guinea , Sierra Leone , and Liberia .