Scotonycteris zenkeri Matschie, 1894

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 : 496-498

Scotonycteris zenkeri Matschie, 1894

( Fig. 11 , Table 3 )

Scotonycteris zenkeri Matschie, 1894: 202 .

COMMON NAMES. — English Zenker’s Tear-drop Fruit Bat. French: Scontonyctère de Zenker.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — 14 specimens (including original data).

Mount Cameroon area • 2 specimens; Mueli ; 4°23’00”N, 9°07’00”E; 600 m; 16.II.1958; Eisentraut m leg.; ZFMK 1961.0646, 0647 • 2 specimens; Malende Swamp Area ; 4°21’00”N, 9°26’00”E; 50 m; 19.XII.1957; Martin Eisentraut leg.; SMNS 6624, 6625 .

Other localities of Cameroon • 3 specimens; Mount Kupe ; 4°48’05”N, 9°42’29”E; 1078 m; 1.XII.1966; Martin Eisentraut leg.; ZFMK 1969.0458, 0459, 0461 • 1 ♀; Dikume - Balue ; 4°14’42”N, 9°29’36”E; 1100 m; 21.II.1967; Martin Eisentraut leg.; ZFMK 1969.0460 • 1 ♀; Bipindi ; 3°05’00”N, 10°25’00”E; 184 m; Zenker Georg August leg.; ZMB 54390 • 1 ♀; Yaoundé; 3°52’00”N, 11°31’00”E; 726 m; Zenker Georg August leg.; ZMB 66533 .

ORIGINAL DATA. — Four individuals of Scotonycteris zenkeri were netted in an undisturbed lowland forest of mount Cameroon at an altitude of 630 m a.s.l ( Table 1 ). This species had previously been recorded in the lowland forest of Mount Cameroon by Eisentraut (1963), Hayman & Hill (1971), and by Fedden & MacLeod (1986), who mist-netted three individuals in a primary undisturbed forest. At Mount Nimba it was recorded at altitudes between 500 m to 600 m a.s.l. by Coe (1975) and at altitude below 800 m a.s.l. by Wolton et al. (1982).

DIAGNOSIS. — The four specimens display the characteristic brown head with prominent white spots on the forehead between nostrils and the eyes, small white spots at the posterior corner of each eye, and lips fringed with white ( Fig. 3 ). The external measurements ( Table 3 ), and description generally agree with those of Fahr (2013b), and Nigerian specimens described by Happold (1987).

HABITATS AND DISTRIBUTION. — This species has a limited distribution in Central Africa, centered on Cameroon (see Hassanin et al. 2015). According to Bergmans (1990), this species inhabits tropical lowland and montane forest where it lives in the lower strata of the forest about 3 m above the ground ( Happold 1987); it roosts singly in trees or bushes ( Happold 1987; Fahr 2013b). It is threatened by habitat loss through deforestation and the conversion of primary forest to agricultural use.

REMARK. — Based on molecular analyses, Hassanin et al. (2015) split Scotonycteris zenkeri into three species: Scotonycteris occidentalis in the Upper Guinea Region of West Africa, S. zenkeri in Cameroon and S. bergmansi in Central Africa.

Figures

FIG. 11. — Scotonycteris zenkeri Matschie, 1894. Photo: © Aaron Manga Mongombe.

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