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Bats are a critical component of most terrestrial systems, yet accurately assessing species richness and abundances remains a challenge. The use of acoustic monitoring has increasingly been used to assess bat communities. Compared with more traditional trapping surveys, acoustic monitoring is relatively easy to use and vastly increases the amount of data collected. However, the ability to accurately identify bat calls from acoustic detectors is limited by the availability of regional call libraries describing the calls of local species. Further, the lack of knowledge of detection distances for different species limits the ability to compare activity levels or abundances between species. We developed an echolocation call library based on zero-crossing recordings with Anabat Express detectors that can be applied broadly to bat acoustic detector surveys across the savanna systems of Swaziland and South Africa, and potentially the broader region of Southern Africa. We also compared detection distances for dif...

Mount Nimba, covering 674 km2, straddles Liberia, Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in West Africa and is situated in the transition zone between the tropical forest zone to the south and moist woodlands to the north. Mount Nimba supports an exceptional biodiversity, with a number of endemic plants, invertebrates and vertebrates restricted to the massif, including the bat Hipposideros lamottei. Previous surveys suggested a high bat richness of 41 species associated with the mountain. During a series of surveys conducted in 2008–2012, we found that the bat diversity in this region far surpasses earlier figures and currently is 59 species. At least one bat species is entirely restricted to the mountain, with several other near-endemics or Upper Guinea forest endemics. Three species are listed as threatened by the IUCN, including one Critically Endangered. Furthermore, the conservation statuses of nine taxa have yet to be evaluated by the IUCN, several of which are recently described species and are likely to be threatened. This study highlights the irreplaceability of Mount Nimba for the conservation of bat diversity on the African continent, and draws attention to its protection.

Species of the genus Raymondia (Diptera: Streblidae) are obligate ectoparasites of bats. They have a wide distribution across Africa and are associated with many different bat species. Here we present the first record of this family in Swaziland. The ectoparasites were of the species Raymondia alulata and were found parasitizing individuals of the species Nycteris thebaica. We review the status of Raymondia species known in Africa, including specimen records, hosts, and host distributions and provide an updated identification key for species in this genus.

Species richness in the genus Miniopterus has been greatly under-reported, with a large number of taxa having been discovered and described in the past two decades. Using molecular, standard morphometrics and acoustic data, we present evidence for the existence of a new species in Mozambique and neighbouring Malawi. Based on cytochrome b (cyt b) and cytochrome oxidase I (COI), the new species is sister to M. minor, from which it is readily distinguishable by its larger size (including non-overlapping forearm measurements, allowing separation in the field). It is distinguishable from sympatric M. mossambicus, itself a newly described taxon from Mozambique, by forearm measurements and a peach-orange wash to the skin around the eyes. In external appearance, it is most similar to M. fraterculus, from which it is only reliably identifiable by multivariate analysis of craniodental features and by a genetic distance of 6.4% in the cyt b gene; the two species also occupy widely differing geographic ranges. The type locality of the new species is Mount Gorongosa, and all known records are from large mountains in central and northern Mozambique and southern Malawi. Further research is required to establish its geographic range and understand its basic ecology. Considering its relatively restricted distribution to threatened montane habitats, we suggest that its global conservation status be urgently assessed.

The phylogenetic relationships and species limits within the chiropteran family Miniopteridae are poorly known in mainland Africa. Recent systematic studies in Madagascar have shown that this is a species-rich family, yet only eight species are currently recognized or hypothesized for continental Africa. Based on partial cytochrome b sequences and morphometric analysis, we describe a new species of Miniopterus that is endemic to a restricted, montane region of Liberia and Guinea. Furthermore, the taxonomic status of the West African Miniopterus schreibersii villiersi is resolved and shown to be a distinct species, M. villiersi, that is not closely related to M. schreibersii. Finally, the species M. inflatus is revealed to be paraphyletic, with the central African rainforest populations apparently not closely related to the savanna forms in eastern and southern Africa. Based on the results of this study, the number of Miniopterus species in Africa has increased from eight to 11, with more cryptic species likely to be discovered.

Tropical West Africa has a high diversity of bats, which are relatively poorly studied. In this baseline biodiversity assessment of bats in the Simandou Mountain Range of southeastern Guinea (Guinea Forestiere), 312 individual bats belonging to 26 species were captured, four of which represent new species records for the country. Combined with the results of a previous survey, 35 bat species have been recorded at Simandou to date, including a new species (Neoromicia sp. nov.), which we describe here, and an additional species potentially new to science. A neotype for Neoromicia tenuipinnis is designated. We present an annotated checklist of the bats at Simandou and neighbouring sites, including some pertinent field notes on their habitat requirements and conservation status. Furthermore, we discuss the estimated maximum species richness and show that Simandou supports one of the most diverse bat communities in tropical Africa. Finally, we outline conservation concerns with respect to bats in the face of t...

We describe a new species of vespertilionid bat from Guinea and Liberia, West Africa. In this context we evaluate previously described taxa from West Africa assigned to Pipistrellus, Neoromicia, and Hypsugo. Based on genetics, morphology and ecology we conclude that the taxon Pipistrellus eisentrauti bellieri should be elevated to species level, and that the taxa bellieri, crassulus, eisentrauti plus the new species form a monophyletic clade for which a new genus name is proposed. The new genus occurs in forested regions south of the Sahara from Senegal to Ethiopia and Somalia, from where further taxa remain to be described.

Several species complexes exist within the African representatives of the genus Hipposideros and the relationships between these taxa are not yet well understood. We present evidence showing that at least seven species of Hipposideros co-occur at Mount Nimba at the northern boundary of the Upper Guinean forest zone. The species H. lamottei has been misdiagnosed previously, partly as a result of errors in published measurements. This taxon is currently known only from high-altitude grasslands in northern (Guinean) Mount Nimba. Cytochrome b sequences and echolocation calls of this species, as well as for H. marisae, are presented for the first time. Also, at least two different species groups, previously lumped in H. ruber, co-exist syntopically here. Mount Nimba apparently represents a diversity hotspot for species of Hipposideros in West Africa, and as a result may be an important site for their conservation.

The bat fauna of Mozambique is poorly documented. We conducted a series of inventories across the country between 2005 and 2009, resulting in the identification of 50 species from 41 sites. Of these, seven species represent new national records that increase the country total to 67 species. These data include results from the first detailed surveys across northern Mozambique, over an area representing almost 50% of the country. We detail information on new distribution records and measurements of these specimens. Special attention is paid to the Rhinolophidae, because these include several taxa that are currently in a state of taxonomic confusion. Furthermore, we also present some notes on taxonomy, ecology and echolocation calls. Finally, we combine modelled distributions to present predicted species richness across the country. Species richness was lowest across the coastal plain, to the east and far north, and is predicted to increase in association with rising altitude and higher topographic unevenness of the landscape.

Riparian habitats are known to be important for bats across the world, however this is largely unstudied in Africa. We investigated the community structure of bats in riparian areas and the surrounding savanna landscape in Swaziland's lowveld using mist nets and a harp trap. We found riparian sites overall had higher bat activity, diversity, species richness and abundance. One species (Epomophorus wahlbergi) accounted for 52.6% of captures. Seasonality had no effect on overall captures, nor did distance from nearest riparian habitat for savanna sites. Echolocation guilds were correlated with vegetation characteristics, with CF (constant frequency), FM (steep frequency-modulated) and FM-QCF (broadband FM) bats more frequently captured at sites with denser undergrowth than QCF (quasi-constant frequency or narrowband FM) bats; conversely, QCF bats were more frequently caught at sites with lower canopy cover than other bats. Our findings suggest that although bats discriminate between microhabitats, they do not respond to larger-scale habitat features in the way that other taxa, such as birds, are found to. In conclusion it appears that riparian areas are important foraging sites for bats within African savannas.