Hipposideros caffer (Sundevall, 1846)

Sundevall’s leaf-nosed bat

Rhinolophus caffer Sundevall, 1846: 118; Near Durban, South Africa.

New material

HZM.244.40187, ♂, 3 August, 2012, Lebayi Cave, Lekoumou, 2°42.045’S, 13°35.968’E. Previous records included in Appendix I; the known distribution corresponds to localities 5, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, and 29 in Fig. 1. This is an apparently common to very abundant species in optimum habitats in Africa (Happold and Happold, 2013).

Description

A small leaf-nosed bat with a forearm length of 49.7 mm (Table 2). Apart from their smaller size, the external features, including the noseleaf, are similar to those of H. ruber described above. With a skull length of 18.13 mm (Table 3) and an upper toothrow length (C–M 3) of 6.18 mm, the skull is smaller than that of H. ruber. The chambers of the rostrum appear similar in size, proportionately, to those of H. ruber; this finding is in contrast to Kock (1969) and Happold and Happold (2013). The frontal depression is very shallow and the well defined supraorbital ridges join the sagittal crest, which is less well developed than in H. ruber, on the anterior part of the braincase. This is in contrast to H. ruber, where they join in the mid-part of the constriction between the rostrum and the braincase. The dentition is comparable to that of H. ruber but proportionately smaller (Fig. 5A). The penis is long; no baculum was recovered from the single specimen examined — either it is absent or was so small as to be overlooked in the dissection.

Taxonomic notes

See H. ruber (above). Following Happold and Happold (2013), this specimen from southern Congo is referred to H. c. angolensis.