Eidolon helvum (Kerr, 1792)

Mongombe, Aaron Manga, Fils, Eric Moise Bakwo & Tamesse, Joseph Lebel, 2020, Annotated checklist of bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of Mount Cameroon, southwestern Cameroon, Zoosystema 42 (24), pp. 483-514 : 488-490

Eidolon helvum (Kerr, 1792)

( Fig. 3 , Table 3 )

Vespertilio vampyrus helvus Kerr, 1792: 11 .

COMMON NAMES. — English: African Straw-colored Fruit Bat. French: Chauves-souris paillée.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — 63 specimens (including original data).

Mount Cameroon area • 12 specimens; Nicolls-island Bimbia; 3°57’16”N, 9°14’42”E; 98 m; 7.II-10.II.1938; Martin Eisentraut leg.; ZMB 54674, 67046, 67144, 67145, 93798, 93799, 93780, 93801, SMNS 3461, 3462, 5584, 33024 • 2 ♂; Buea; 4°09’00”N, 9°12’00”E; 1050 m; 7.II-10.II.1938; Martin Eisentraut & Preuss P. leg.; ZMB 10203, 10204, SMNS 5073, 5074 • 14 specimens; Vic- toria; 4°00’46”N, 9°13’13”E; 136 m; Martin Eisentraut, Preuss P. & Bottcher. leg.; ZMB 54523, 54524, 54657, 54597, 54692, 670046, 67136, 67140, 67141, 67144, 67839, 67141, 67143, 93839 .

Other localities of Cameroon • 4 specimens; Mount Oku ; 6°15’00”N, 10°26’00”E; 18.I.1967; Martin Eisentraut leg.; ZFMK 1969.0413, 0414, 0415, 0416 • 1 ♂; Mora ; 11°2’47”N, 14°8’26”E; 31.I.1973; Martin Eisentraut leg.; ZFMK 1973.0368 • 3 specimens; Bipindi ; 3°05’00”N, 10°25’00”E; 184 m; Zenker Georg August leg.; ZMB 10202, 67142, 67143 • 1 ♂; Yaounde ; 3°52’00”N, 11°31’00”E; 726 m; Zenker Georg August leg.; ZMB 10210 • 1 ♀; Sangmelima ; 2°56’00”N, 11°59’00”E; 543 m; Rolle H leg.; ZMB 18369 • 2♀, 1 specimen; Bafia area ; 4°45’00”N, 11°14’00”E; 467 m; Buchholz, Tessmann & Zenker Georg August leg.; ZMB 31487, 5022, 54318 • 8 specimens; Mamfe ; 5°46’00”N, 9°17’00”E; 459 m; Mansfeld, Strunk, Mack & Preuss P. leg.; ZMB 54588, 54598, 54601a, 54602, 54693, 54702, 54935, 54939 • 1 specimen; Bamenda ; 5°56’00”N, 10°10’00”E; 1614 m; Glauning. leg.; ZMB 66524 • 2 specimens; Basho ; 6°08’00”N, 9°26’00”E; 267 m; Von Örtzen leg.; ZMB 67031, 67032 .

ORIGINAL DATA. — 11 individuals (6 males and 5 females) were captured during our field surveys ( Table 1 ). Three individuals were captured at the beginning of the dry season in November in groundlevel mist nets placed over a slow flowing stream while the remaining eight were captured in July and August in the rainy season by fruit-bearing Mango trees ( Mangifera indica ) and fig tree ( Ficus spp). All individuals were captured at altitudes below 1140 m a.s.l. in disturbed and cultivated lowland rainforest and montane forest habitats ( Table 1 ). This species was also collected by Eisentraut (1964) and Fedden & MacLeod (1986), in disturbed and cultivated habitats on Mount Cameroon. This species has also been recorded in the Sahelian zone of northern Cameroon ( Bakwo Fils et al. 2014), and the tropical humid forest of Southern Cameroon ( Bakwo Fils 2009).

HABITATS AND DISTRIBUTION. — This bat is widely distributed across the lowland rainforest and savannah zones of sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal in the west, to Ethiopia in the east, to southern South Africa ( Mickleburgh et al. 2008a), and it has also been recorded on the Arabian Peninsula ( Mickleburgh et al. 2008a). It is a species that often roosts amidst human habitations ( Webala et al. 2014). This species is gregarious and colonies may number in tens of thousands ( Monadjem et al. 2010). According to Happold (1987) they prefer tall dead trees with bare branches of particular species for roosting. They are threatened across West and Central Africa by harvesting for bushmeat and medicinal use ( Mickleburgh et al. 2008a).

Figures

FIG. 3. — Eidolon helvum (Kerr, 1792). Photo: © Aaron Manga Mongombe.