Rhinolophus damarensis, Roberts, 1946

Burgin, Connor, 2019, Rhinolophidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 280-332 : 293

25 . Damare Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus damarensis

French: Rhinolophe damara / German: Damara-Hufeisennase / Spanish: Herradura de Damara

Taxonomy. Rhinolophus darlingi damarensis Roberts, 1946 ,

“ Oserikari, Okahandja district , South-west Africa [= Damaraland , Namibia]. ”

Although currently considered in the ferrumequinum species group, R damarensis has been recovered as sister to the fumigatus group; additional phylogenetic research is needed. Rhinolophus damarensis was previously included as a subspecies of R darlingi but is now recognized as a distinct species based on molecular and morphological evidence. There seems to be morphological and molecular variation between northern and southern populations. Monotypic.

Distribution. SW Angola, Namibia, and W & C South Africa.

Descriptive notes. Head-body c.61- 6-64 mm, tail 21- 4-35 mm, ear 15-2-22- 3 mm, forearm 44-52- 9 mm; weight 8-14 g. The Damara Horseshoe Bat is externally similar to Darling’s Horseshoe Bat (AE darlingi ). Dorsal pelage is gray, brownish gray, or grayish brown; venter is paler. There is no orange morph. Males lack axillary tufts. Ears are short. Noseleaf has large subtriangular lancet, with slighdy concave sides and blundy pointed dp; connecting process is smoothly rounded and subequal to height of sella or slighdy shorter; sella is naked, with concave sides and broad, rounded tip; and horseshoe is of medium width at 7-11 mm, nearly covers muzzle, and has lateral leaflets and deep median emargination. Lower lip has one medial groove. Wings and uropatagium are translucent gray to black. Baculum has short, dorso-ventrally flattened basal cone, with dorsal and ventral incisions, and sides of shaft are generally more convex before tapering to a point. Skull is robust, with thick zygomatic arches (zygomatic width is larger than mastoid width); nasal swellings are medium in relative height; frontal depression is shallow to moderately deep, and supraorbital ridges are well defined; sagittal crest is somewhat well developed anteriorly but weakly developed to absent posteriorly; and interpterygoid groove is conspicuous. P2 is small and completely displaced labially or absent, allowing C 1 and P4 to touch; P3 is tiny and completely displaced labially or absent; and P2 and P4 are in contact. Dental formula is variable: 11/2, C 1/1, P 2/2, M 3/3 (x2) = 30; 11/2, C 1/1, P 1/2, M 3/3 (x2) = 28; I 1/2, C 1/1, P 2/3, M 3/3 (x2) = 32; or 11/2, C 1/1, P 1/3, M 3/3 (x2) = 30.

Habitat. Arid savanna, Succulent and Nama Karoo biomes, shrublands, and desert habitats.

Food and Feeding. Damara Horseshoe Bats are insectivorous.

Breeding. Reproduction of the Damara Horseshoe Bat is probably similar to that of Darling’s Horseshoe Bat, but no specific data are available.

Activity patterns. Damara Horseshoe Bats are nocturnal. They mainly roost in caves, but they have been found in abandoned mine shafts. Call shape is FM/CF/FM, F component is 84-4-87-6 kHz in females and 84-4-86-9 kHz in males, and call duration has been recorded averaging 31-1 milliseconds.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Damara Horseshoe Bat is social and forms colonies of less than 100 individuals.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on 77 ie IUCN ed List. The Damara Horseshoe Bat is widespread but might be threatened by habitat destruction and mining.

Bibliography. ACR (2018), Cotterill & Happold (2013a), Jacobs, Babiker eta /. (2013), Jacobs, Bastian & Bam (2014), Jacobs, Taylor et al. (2016), Maluleke (2017), Maluleke et al. (2017), Monadjem, Higgins et al. (2008), Monadjem, Jacobs, Taylor et al. (2017), Monadjem, Taylor et al. (2010).

Figures

On following pages: 27. African Forest Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus silvestris); 28. Upland Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hillorum); 29. Sakeji Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus sakejiensis); 30. Bokhara Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus bocharicus); 31. Greater Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum); 32. Geoffrey's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus clivosus); 33. Greater Japanese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus nippon); 34. Horacek's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus horaceki); 35. Maclaud's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus maclaudi); 36. Ziama Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ziama); 37. Hill's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hilli); 38. Kahuzi Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus kahuzi); 39. Willard's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus willardi); 40. Ruwenzori Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ruwenzorii); 41. Chinese Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus xinanzhongguoensis); 42. Big-eared Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus macrotis); 43. Osgood's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus osgoodi); 44. Allen's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus episcopus); 45. Thai Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus siamensis); 46, Schnitzler's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus schnitzten); M. King Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus rex); 48. Marshall’s Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus marshalli).

Distribution. SW Angola , Namibia , and W & C South Africa .