Neoromicia nana (Peters, 1852)

Bates, Paul J. J., Cameron, Kenneth, Pearch, Malcolm J. & Hayes, Benjamin, 2013, A review of the bats (Chiroptera) of the Republic of Congo, including eight species new to the country, Acta Chiropterologica 15 (2), pp. 313-340 : 327

Neoromicia nana (Peters, 1852)

Banana bat

Vespertilio nanus Peters, 1852: 63 ; Inhambane, Mozambique.

New material

HZM.321.40186 , ♂, 1 August, 2012, Airport , Lekoumou, 2°46.766’S, 13°33.594’E. Previous records are included in Appendix I ; the known distribution corresponds to localities 17, 29, and 39 in Fig. 1 . This species is apparently common wherever banana plants are abundant ( Happold and Happold, 2013).

Description

A very small, nondescript species with a forearm length of 31.1 mm ( Table 2 ). The soles of the feet and base of the thumb are slightly swollen to assist the bat when moving inside smooth banana leaves. In the ear, the tragus has a virtually straight anterior border, a rounded tip, and an angular posterior border, without a basal notch ( Fig. 8E ). The skull is small (GTL = 11.72 mm) ( Table 3 ); the braincase is distinctly elevated above the rostrum, with a marked concavity in the interorbital region ( Fig. 12B ). The first upper incisor (I 2) is narrow and small with a notch (indicative of a secondary cusp) at about two-thirds its height; the second upper incisor (I 3) is also narrow, unicuspid and about three-quarters the height of I 2 ( Fig. 12B ). The first upper premolar (P 2) is minute and situated slightly internal to the toothrow but is visible when the skull is viewed laterally ( Fig. 12B ). The first lower premolar (P 2) is about two-thirds the crown area and height of the second (P 4). The baculum has a short, slightly curved shaft, a flattened, broader tip and a bilobate base ( Fig. 11C ).

Taxonomic notes

Geographical variation in N. nana seems little understood ( Rosevear, 1965; Monadjem et al., 2010) and currently all specimens from Congo are referred to the nominate subspecies ( Happold and Happold, 2013).

Figures

APPENDIX I A list of the forty-three bat species currently recorded from Congo, including citations in the literature and locality data. CS (Conservation status – NT: Near threatened; DD: Data deficient; LC: Least concern) is based on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species retrieved on 8 May, 2013. Two species listed here have not been assessed (na) by IUCN for their conservation status but rather have been included within other taxa: Triaenops afer in Triaenops persicus and Chaerephon leucogaster in Tadarida pumila. Superscripts associated with localities in column 4 refer to the superscripts for the literature cited in column 3

FIG. 1. Localities from which bats have been collected in Congo based on the literature and current study (see Appendix I). Size of red dot is proportional in area to the number of species collected from that locality. Habitat types are based on Bergmans (1979). Localities (listed in Appendix III): (1) Pointe-Noire; (2) Hinda; (3) Loandjili; (4) Tchissanga; (5) Koubotchi; (6) Ménengué; (7) N’Gongo; (8) Dinguembo; (9) Béna; (10) Goumina; (11) Sounda, Gorge of; (12) Makaba; (13) Bouloungi; (14) Dimonika; (15) Mayombe; (16) Bamba, col du Mont; (17a–c) Loudima-Kimongo (includes Cave of Doumboula, Cave of Loudima, and Cave of Viaduc); (18a,b) Kila N’Tari and Mouyondzi; (19a–h) Bangou Massif (includes Bouaboumpono, Cave of Kimanika, Cave of Matouridi, Meya / Cave of Meya-Nzouari, Cave of Meya-Nwadi, Mountembessa, Cave of Mpasa, and Cave of Mpoka); (20) Voka; (21) Kinkala; (22) Ile M’Bamou; (23) La Région du Pool (Stanley Pool); (24) Brazzaville; (25) Grand Bois; (26) Sibiti; (27) Komono; (28) Divenié; (29) Lekoumou; (30) Lesio-Louna Reserve; (31) Ngabé; (32) Plateau Konkouya; (33) Lékana; (34) Djambala; (35) Ewo; (36) Konda; (37) Ubangi (Oubangi); (38) Mouth of Ubangi River; (39) Kellé; (40) Odzala/Odzala National Park; (41) Kango; (42) Impfondo; (43) Epena. Scale as marked. C.A.R.= Central African Republic; D.R. Congo = Democratic Republic of Congo

FIG. 8. Right tragus of (A): Glauconycteris alboguttata, HZM.1.40172, ♀; (B): G. beatrix, HZM.1.40181, ♀; (C): Hypsugo crassulus, HZM.1.40190, ♂; (D): Neoromicia brunnea, HZM.1.40191, ♂; (E): N. nana, HZM.321.40186, ♂; (F): N. tenuipinnis, HZM.7.40170, ♀; (G): Pipistrellus nanulus, HZM.1.40189, ♂; (H): Mimetillus moloneyi, HZM.10.40177, ♂; (I): Miniopterus inflatus, HZM.19.40182, ♂. Scale = 2 mm

FIG. 12. Skulls of three Neoromicia, including lateral view of right upper incisors, and occlusal view of left mandibular dentition [left] and left maxillary dentition [right] of (A): N. brunnea, HZM.1.40191, ♂; (B): N. nana, HZM.321.40186, ♂ and (C) N. tenuipinnis, HZM.7.40170, ♀. Scales for skulls and occlusal views of toothrows (left and right) = 2 mm; scale for upper incisors (centre) = 1 mm

FIG. 11. Bacula of four pipistrelles. (A): Hypsugo crassulus, HZM.1.40190; (B): Neoromicia brunnea, HZM.1.40191; (C): N. nana, HZM.321.40186; and (D): Pipistrellus nanulus, HZM.1.40189. Scale = 1 mm