35.

Sororcula Long-fingered Bat

Miniopterus sororculus

French: Minioptére soeur / German: Schwesterchen-Langfligelfledermaus / Spanish: Minidéptero de Goodman

Other common names: Malagasy Long-fingered Bat, Sororcula Bent-winged Bat

Taxonomy. Miniopterus sororculus Goodman et al., 2007,

“ Madagascar: Province de Fianarantsoa, 3 km south of Ambatofinandrahana, in unnamed cave, 20° 34.321°S, 46°48.530'E, 1,450. m.”

Miniopterus sororculus was formerly included in M. fraterculus of eastern Africa. Monotypic.

Distribution. Highlands of C Madagascar.

Descriptive notes. Head-body c¢.54-57 mm, tail 51-58 mm, ear 10-12 mm, hindfoot 6-8 mm, forearm 42-45 mm; weight 7-9-1 g. Dorsal pelage of the Sororcula Long-fingered Bat is notably dense, relatively long, slightly silky, and rich dark brown; ventral pelage has similar texture but is slightly paler. Dorsal pelage occasionally approaches medium dark brown. Wing membrane and uropatagium are dark brownish black and have no noticeable change in color across their surfaces. Dorsally, particularly close to humerus head, and ventrally, there is a slight extension of body pelage onto wing membranes. Tragus (6-8 mm) is relatively long, with curved projection and laterally thickened base.

Habitat. Remnant native vegetation, open savanna areas, and probably transformed and degraded habitats at elevations of 40-2200 m (mostly above 900 m). Natural forests near roosts of Sororcula Long-fingered Bats have mostly been cleared and replaced with introduced trees.

Food and Feeding. There is no specific information recorded for this species, but it is expected to mainly eat soft insects captured in flight as do other long-fingered bats.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Sororcula Long-fingered Bat is nocturnal. Specimens collected in a cave at 2200 m were torpid in May. At this elevation during austral winter, minimum temperature drops to near freezing, and it can be assumed therefore that such populations hibernate. It uses shallow caves in rocky (marble and limestone) outcrops and rock crevices as daytime shelters (once found in an attic of a house occupied by people). Echolocation calls have downward FM signals, with maximum frequencies of 83-121 kHz, minimum frequencies of 50-53 kHz, peak frequencies of 53-9-56-6 kHz, durations of 2:7-3-9 milliseconds, and intervals of 50-8-99-8 milliseconds.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Wide elevational range occupied might be associated with movements, with breeding colonies at low elevations and the rest of the life cycle completed at higher elevations. The species shares shelters with Major’s Long-fingered Bat (M. major) and the Manavil Long-fingered Bat (M. manavi).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Goodman, Bradman et al. (2008), Goodman, Ryan et al. (2007), Monadjem, Cardiff et al. (2017c¢), Ramasindrazana et al. (2011).