Mops bakarii, 2008

Stanley, William T., 2008, A new species of Mops (Molossidae) from Pemba Island, Tanzania, Acta Chiropterologica 10 (2), pp. 183-192 : 184-189

Mops bakarii sp. nov.

( Figs. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , and 6 ; Tables 1 and 2 )

Holotype

FMNH 192895 , an adult male collected on 5 August 2006 by the author, field number WTS 7307 , and prepared as a study skin with right wing extend- ed, cleaned skull and fluid preserved body, all in good condition. Muscle tissue samples are preserved in EDTA. The testes of the specimen were scrotal and each measured 5 × 2 mm. External measurements (in mm): total length 104, tail length 29, hind foot length (with claw) 9, ear length 17, forearm length 37; body mass: 17 g; skull measurements (in mm): greatest skull length 20.2, condylobasal length 17.6, condyloincisive length 17.6, palatal length 6.7, upper mandibular tooth row 7.1, upper molar tooth row 5.3, lacrimal width 5.1, interorbital width 3.8, greatest zygomatic breadth 12, mastoid breadth 11.4, breadth of braincase 9.1, width between most lingual aspects of upper canines 2.2, width between most labial aspects of upper canines 5.4, width between most lingual aspects of third upper molars 5.6, and width between most labial aspects of third upper molars 8.4.

Type Locality

Tanzania, Pemba Island, Kaskazini Region, Ngezi Forest, Kipangani village, 4.96487ºS, 39.71456ºE, 12 m a.s.l., in attic of hospital ( Fig. 1 ).

Paratypes

Two adult ♀♀ + 18 ♂♂: as type locality, collect- ed 5–6 August 2006 by W. T. Stanley, adult ♀♀, FMNH 192832–192833 (WTS 7338–7339) ; adult ♂♂, FMNH 192824–192831 (WTS 7312, 7313, 7327–7329, 7335–7337), FMNH 192834–192836 (WTS 7345, 7347–7348), FMNH 192894 , 192896– 192901 (WTS 7306, 7308, 7322, 7331–7334). Preparations include complete specimen preserved in fluid; specimen in fluid with skull removed; skin, skull and skeleton; and skin, skull and postcranial cadaver preserved in fluid.

Etymology

The species epithet was selected to honor Dr. Bakari Asseid, Director of the Department of Commercial Crops, Fruits and Forestry, Zanzibar, to recognize his significant contributions to the conservation of natural habitats and biota of Zanzibar (including both Pemba and Unguja Islands).

Diagnosis

Mops bakarii is a member of the genus Mops based on the presence of five upper cheek teeth, and the reduced ‘V’ pattern (the third commissure is much reduced) of the third upper molar. Furthermore, this new form fits the description of members of the subgenus Xiphonycteris (Koopman, 1975) because of the presence of a well developed anterior palatal emargination (members of the subgenus Mops have a closed palate). Mops bakarii has an average forearm length of 35.9 mm ( Table 1 ). The first upper premolar is much reduced and barely extends past the cingulum of the canine. Basisphenoid pits are essentially absent ( Figs. 2 , 3 , and 4). The dorsal pelage is a chocolate brown and the venter ranges from a dirty white to dirty yellow ( Fig. 5 ), with hairs on the throat being longer than elsewhere on the ventral pelage.

Comparisons

Mops bakarii is ascribed to the subgenus Xiphonycteris because of its reduced last upper molar and anterior palatal emargination (Koopman, 1975). Simmons (2005) lists five species in the subgenus: M. brachypterus , M. nanulus , M. petersoni , M. spurrelli , and M. thersites . Mops bakarii differs from all of these in lacking basisphenoid pits ( Figs. 2 , 3 , and 4). In addition, M. bakarii differs from M. nanulus , M. petersoni , and M. spurrelli in being larger ( Table 2 ), and having a longer forearm and a more reduced third upper premolar ( Fig. 6 ).

The only species of the subgenus Xiphonycteris that are within the general size range of M. bakarii are M. brachypterus and M. thersites . The former is particularly important in this regard, because the holotype was collected on an island off Mozambique ( Peters, 1852), and subsequently has been documented to occur across the Afrotropics as far west as Gambia ( Simmons, 2005), and no detailed examination of variation within the species has been carried out. Examination of the photograph of the type reveals the presence of basisphenoid pits, not seen in M. bakarii . However the upper canines of the holotype are robust and similar to those of M. bakarii , and different from other specimens of M. brachypterus examined ( Fig. 6 ; see discussion). Mops bakarii differs from M. thersites in lacking basisphenoid pits and having a much more reduced third upper premolar (barely extending beyond level of cingulum of canine) which is crowded because of the proximity of the canine to the forth upper premolar ( Figs. 2 , 3 , 4 , and 6). Mops bakarii differs from M. thersites in having fur that extends over the back to the proximal edge of the plagiopatagium and the base of the tail, whereas the pelage

of M. thersites is restricted to the top of the lower back and does not reach the proximal edge of the plagiopatagium. Mops bakarii differs from all currently recognized species of the subgenus Mops in having a well-developed anterior palatal emargination. The new species is also significantly small- er than most members of the subgenus, with the exception of M. demonstrator , and differs from this species in lacking basisphenoid pits.

Principal components analysis of cranial measurements of 58 specimens exhibited separation on the first component based primarily on size, but the second component was most heavily influenced by the inside distance between the upper canines. Because of evidence of sexual dimorphism within the genus, the same analysis was conducted on females only (which was the sex that was represent- ed most within the specimens examined). The same pattern of distribution along the first and second components was exhibited ( Fig. 7 ). The thick and robust canine base in the new species relative to specimens measured is evident in these comparisons ( Figs. 3 and 7 ). However, the canines of the holotype of M. brachypterus (not included in the

principal components analyses) are also stout ( Fig. 4 ). This suggests that there may be more than one species within the brachypterus group.

Description

The dorsal pelage consists of hairs approximately 2 mm in length that are chocolate brown for most of the length, but the bases are off white. Across the dorsum there are aggregates of all white hairs (roughly ten to a clump) that give the back a speckled appearance, although the arrangement of these aggregates varies among individuals in the series examined. For example, the holotype shows most of these spots below the neck, a pattern not exhibited by other specimens in the series. One individual (FMNH 192896) exhibits a white spot roughly 2 mm in diameter on the dorsum below the left shoulder, and such a pattern was not seen in other specimens. Ventrally, the pelage of the neck consists of 3 mm long hairs that are yellow at the base, light brown in the middle, and beige-white at the tips, giving a general appearance of slightly luxurious hair (relative to other regions of the body) that is a mixture of yellow and frosted on top. The hairs are much shorter on the balance of the venter starting at the upper chest (1 mm), which are brown at the base with beige-white tips. The wing membranes are black as is the uropatagium which is clothed in short brown hairs on the anterior half of the dorsal surface. The ventral surface also has hairs on the anterior half, but these are dirty grey. The muzzle is blunt with the dorsal and lateral rims of the nostrils extended slightly. There are roughly six to seven ridges or wrinkles on each side of the upper lips ( Fig. 5 ) and the anterior wrinkles and skin under the midline of the nose is distributed with short thick jet black hairs that are spoon-shaped. The anterior borders of the pinnae are well supplied with fine reddish hairs. The antitragus is 3 mm high by 4 mm wide, and the tragus is 2 mm high. Based on the current small sample size (n = 2), females are significantly smaller than males in total length, tail length and body mass ( Table 1 ). Based on examination of the bodies of the two females collected, there is no sexual dimorphism in pelage characteristics.

The skull is stout with moderately well developed sagittal and lambdoidal crests, but very modest lacrimal protrusions ( Fig. 2 ). The palatal emargination of the anterior palate is open, narrow and extends to behind the front alveolar border of the canine, which is robust with a broad cingulum. The third upper premolar, while in the line of the toothrow, is small and barely extends beyond the cingulum of either the canine or the fourth upper premolar. There are no basisphenoid pits.

Distribution

Mops bakarii is currently only known from the type locality near Ngezi Forest on the northern end of Pemba Island.

Habitat

The holotype was captured by hand in the attic of a hospital in Kipangani village. The hospital walls were constructed from stone block, the roof of corrugated metal resting on wooden trusses, and there was a ceiling separating the roof and the occupied

portion of the building. There were no ventilation holes on the gable of the building. The paratypes were captured by hand, or in a mistnet set next to the narrow end of the building. Bats emerged from the apex of the metal roof at approximately 18:45 hours. Kipangani is next to Ngezi Forest and is set in the middle of agricultural fields, and potentially suitable natural roosting sites include hollow trees, rock outcrops and sea caves. The sampled population of M. bakarii was cohabitating the hospital roof with Chaerephon leucogaster (A. Grandidier 1869) , which is commonly found in synanthropic settings in Madagascar (Eger and Mitchell, 2003; Goodman et al., 2005), and Unguja (author’s unpublished data).

Figures

FIG. 2. Dorsal, ventral and lateral views of the holotype of Mops bakarii, new species (FMNH 192895) Greatest length of skull — 19.6 mm. (Photograph taken by R. Banasiak)

FIG. 3. Scanning electron microscope photographs comparing the ventral aspects of the crania of M. brachypterus from Zaire (FMNH 43877; left) and M. bakarii (FMNH 192830; right). As indicated by arrow, M. brachypterus has developed basisphenoid pits and these are lacking in M. bakarii. (Photograph taken by R. Banasiak)

FIG. 4. Ventral aspect of the crania of: left, M. brachypterus from Zaire (FMNH 43877); middle, the holotype of M. brachypterus (ZMB 85537); right, the holotype of M. bakarii (FMNH 192895). Note presence of basisphenoid pits in the two specimens of M. brachypterus, and absence of such pits in M. bakarii. Note also similarity of canines between the holotypes of M. brachypterus and M. bakarii. (Drawing made by R. Kramer)

FIG. 5. Mops bakarii (FMNH 192834), new species, showing dorsal and ventral pelage coloration and external morphology of the head. (Photograph taken by the author)

FIG. 6. Scanning electron microscope photographs comparing the first upper premolar (indicated by white arrow) of Mops brachypterus from Zaire (FMNH 43877; top) and M. bakarii (FMNH 192830; bottom).Anterior end of the skull is to the left. (Photograph taken by R. Banasiak)

FIG. 1. Map of Pemba Island, Tanzania. The circle shows the type locality of M. bakarii near Ngezi Forest on the northern end of the island

FIG. 7. Projection of specimen scores of Mops spp. on the first two extracted principal components, with polygons circumscribing the maximum dispersion of scores. Left, both sexes combined, PC 1 and 2 explained 83.3 and 9.1% of the variation, respectively; right, females only, PC 1 and 2 explained 89.5 and 5.4% of the variation, respectively

Tables

TABLE 1. External measurements (in mm) and body mass (in g) of M. bakarii, for each sex and the two sexes combined, given as mean ± SD, minimum–maximum, and sample size. Results of a one way ANOVA (effect — sex) are indicted where females were significantly smaller than males. ** — P ≤ 0.01; *** — P ≤ 0.001

Character	All (n = 21) 0 ± SD min–max		Females (n = 2) 0 ± SD min–max		Males (n = 19) 0 ± SD min–max
Total length **	97.7 ± 5.21	87–105	89.0 ± 2.83	87–91	98.6 ± 4.52	90–105
Tail length **	29.0 ± 2.00	24–33	25.5 ± 2.12	24–27	29.4 ± 1.64	27–33
Hindfoot length	9.3 ± 0.91	8–11	8.5 ± 0.71	8–9	9.4 ± 0.90	8–11
Ear length	16.0 ± 0.71	15–17	15.5 ± 0.71	15–16	16.0 ± 0.70	15–17
Forearm length	35.9 ± 1.04	34–38	35.0 ± 0.00	35–35	36.0 ± 1.05	34–38
Body mass ***	16.6 ± 1.55	13.0–18.5	13.5 ± 0.71	13.0–14.0	16.9 ± 1.20	14.5–18.5