Molossidae
Author
Don E. Wilson
Author
Russell A. Mittermeier
text
2019
2019-10-31
Lynx Edicions
Barcelona
Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats
598
672
book chapter
http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6418279
bc3766a8-d834-42d8-9b39-0612d00293ca
978-84-16728-19-0
6418279
103.
Bini Winged-mouse Bat
Myopterus whitleyi
French:
Tadaride de Whitley
/
German:
Whitley-Bulldogfledermaus
/ Spanish: Miéptero de Whitley
Other common names:
Bini Free-tailed Bat
,
Whitley's Winged-mouse Bat
Taxonomy.
Mormopterus whitleyi Scharff, 1900
,
“
Benin
City [
Nigeria
] in West Africa.”
This species is monotypic.
Distribution.
Patchily distributed in W, C & E Africa, from
Ghana
E through parts of
Nigeria
,
Cameroon
,
Central African Republic
,
Gabon
, and
DR Congo
to S
Uganda
; conspicuously absent from C
Congo
Basin, but occurs around the periphery.
Descriptive notes.
Head-body c¢.53-56 mm, tail 25-31 mm, ear 14-16 mm, hindfoot 5-8 mm, forearm 35-37 mm; weight 10-12 g. Fur is short and dark brown above, without stripes; dirty white, cream or pure white below, with no mid-ventral markings but with white flank-stripe. Skin of forearm, tibia, fingers and tail is dark pink. Wings have yellowish-white arm-wing membranes and transparent hand-wing membranes. Tail membrane is gray or pale brown above, whitish below. Upper lip is smooth without wrinkles, with dense patch of spoon-hairs. Ears are erect, narrow, pointed, without complex folds, and well separated, and apex is unpigmented. Tragus is large for a molossid, squarish, and same size as antitragus and not concealed by it. There is no interaural crest, and gular sac is present in males. Anterior palatal emargination is closed and basisphenoid pits are very deep and wide. M? has N-shaped cusps with third ridge absent or vestigial. Anterior premolaris absent and there is only one incisor on each side, bicuspid in shape.
Habitat.
Tropical moist lowland forest.
Food and Feeding.
No information.
Breeding.
No information.
Activity patterns.
Bini Winged-mouse Bats have been recorded roosting on the bark of a tree, among the leaves of plantains, and in the roof of a rubber-packing shed.
Movements, Home range and Social organization.
The Bini Winged-mouse Bat is seemingly solitary.
Status and Conservation.
Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Bini Winged-mouse Bat is probably threatened to some extent by logging activities and general conversion of forest to agricultural land.
Bibliography.
ACR (2017), Brosset & Vuattoux (1968), Fahr (
2013t
), Monadjem et al. (2015).