Nycteris hispida (Schreber, 1774)

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 : 504

Nycteris hispida (Schreber, 1774)

Vespertilio hispidus Schreber, 1774: 169 .

COMMON NAME. — English: Hairy Slit-faced Bat. French: Nyctère hérissée.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — 33 specimens.

Mount Cameroon area • 2 ♀♀; Buea ; 4°09’00”N, 9°12’00”E; 1050 m; 24.II-17.IV.1954; Martin Eisentraut leg.; SMNS 5120, 5121 • 1 ♀; Mueli ; 4°23’00”N, 9°07’00”E; 600 m; 12.II.1958; Martin Eisentraut leg.; ZFMK 1963. 0194 • 2♀♀, 1♂; Mubenge -Isongo ; 4°05’00”N, 9°00’00”E; 0 m; 3.III.1938; Martin Eisentraut leg.; SMNS 3450, 5590, ZMB 93850 .

Other localities of Cameroon • 1 ♂; Nyasoso ; 4°49’42”N, 9°40’55”E; 1078 m; 14.XI.1948; Martin Eisentraut leg.; ZFMK 1969.0486 • 11♀♀, 13 ♂♂, 2 specimens; Waza ; 11°23’41”N, 14°34’09”E; 321 m; Böhme Wolfgang Hartwig leg.; ZFMK 1974.0313 to 0325; 0418A to 0418M; ZMB 53893 .

ORIGINAL DATA. — We did not record any individuals attributed to this species during our field surveys, but the species has previously been recorded at Buea, Mount Cameroon by Eisentraut (1963).

HABITATS AND DISTRIBUTION. — This species is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa ( Van Cakenberghe & De Vree 1993). The species occupies a variety of habitats including savannah, woodland and forest where it roosts in dense bushes, houses, hollow trees, and caves ( Monadjem et al. 2010). The occurrence of this species on Mount Cameroon was previously documented by Eisentraut (1963), but no individual was recorded during our field surveys. Fedden & MacLeod (1986) noted that this species has a wide African distribution, and is often associated with human habitation and common in cultivated areas. In Liberian Mt. Nimba it was recorded sparsely in open savannah ( Monadjem et al. 2016). This ubiquitous species roosts singly or in groups in holes in the ground or on twigs close to the ground ( Happold 1987). Its diet consists of insect such as moths and mantises which are apprehended by slow-hawking or gleaning ( Happold 2013f).