Parahypsugo bellieri (De Vree, 1972)

Bellier’s Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus eisentrauti bellieri De Vree, 1972: 412 .

Hypsugo eisentrauti bellieri: Heller et al., 1994: 2–3 .

Nycticeinops eisentrauti: Hoofer and Van Den Busche, 2003: 14, 19, 27, 53; Hoofer et al., 2006: 982, 984.

Hypsugo ( crassulus) bellieri: Weber and Fahr, 2007: 92 /93.

Pipistrellus crassulus: Fahr, 2013: 617 .

Hypsugo crassulus: Decher et al., 2016: 266 .

Material examined

Holotype, MRAC 35686, female, skin and skull (Côte d‘Ivoire, Adiopodoumé; coll. F. De Vree, 19 November 1969); ZFMK-MAM-2008.0299 (ZFMK-TIS-4905, -4906, -25943; ZFMK-DNA- 0100417869), female (Guinea, Simandou, Foko Confluence, 8 March 2008); ZFMK-MAM- 2009.0030 (ZFMK-TIS-4545, -4546, -25947; ZFMK-DNA-0100417618), male (Guinea, Simandou, Western Spur Valley, 12 December 2008). DM 12616, male (Liberia, East Nimba Nature Reserve, coll. Ara Monadjem 22 December 2010, altitude 1,200 m a.s.l.); DM 13221, male (Liberia, East Nimba Nature Reserve, coll. A. M. 31 December 2011, altitude 900 m a.s.l.); DM 13222, male (Liberia, 10 km west of Mount Nimba, coll. A. M. 8 January 2012, altitude 420 m a.s.l.).

Comments

This species was originally described as a subspecies of Pipistrellus eisentrauti (De Vree 1972), and subsequently assigned to Hypsugo crassulus (Heller et al., 1994), although Koopman et al. (1995) argued to keep both species in Pipistrellus and retain bellieri as a subspecies of P. eisentrauti . The holotype compares well in external and cranium dimensions with other specimens from Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire (Table 4). It is one of two smaller species of Parahypsugo which is known only from the Upper Guinea forest zone in Guinea, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. Fahr (2013) discussed it as a subspecies of Pipistrellus crassulus with specimens from seven localities from these countries, but noted that it may represent a distinct species, as did Monadjem et al. (2016). Happold and Happold (2013) published a drawing of the skull (Fig. 137d) of the holotype of P. bellieri .