Laephotis namibensis Setzer 1971

137.

Namib Long-eared Bat

Laephotis namibensis

French: Vespére de Namibie / German: Namib-Langohrfledermaus / Spanish: Laefotis de Namibia

Other common names: Namibian Long-eared Bat

Taxonomy. Laephotis namibensis Setzer, 1971,

“Namib Research Station, Gobabeb, South West Africa [= Namibia].”

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. SW Namibia and W South Africa.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 49-65 mm, tail 38-47 mm, ear 22-25 mm, hindfoot 7-8 mm, forearm 36-40 mm; weight 7-8— 11 g. Pelage is soft and slightly shaggy on rump; dorsally creamy brown or yellowish brown (hairs distinctly bicolored, with dark brown bases of c. 4 mm, and creamy-brown or yellowish-brown tips of ¢. 3 mm; mid-dorsal hairs c. 7 mm long); ventrally pale cream to whitish (hairs in pelvic region pure white; elsewhere with blackish-brown bases of c. 4 mm and pale cream or white of ¢. 3 mm). Wings are pale creamy brown, when dorsal pelage is pale, or dark brown, when dorsal pelage is yellowish brown; arm-wing usually has whitish hind border; interfemoral membrane is paler and more translucent than wings. Ears are pale to medium brown, roughly triangular but elongated, with rounded tip and inner margins almost meeting on forehead, but notjoined. Skull averages long and wide for Laephotis (greatest skull lengths 14-4-15-5 mm); braincase slightly flattened; rostrum quite narrow; zygomatic arches slender; sagittal crest absent; lambdoidal crests low. P* is sharply pointed and rises above molars. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 34 and FNa = 50 (Namibia).

Habitat. Desert, fynbos, and savanna biomes; arid, mountainous habitat, close to open water.

Food and Feeding. In the Cederberg (western South Africa), diet was mainly Lepidoptera and Coleoptera.

Breeding. In the Cederberg, a pregnant female was caught in November, and a postlactating female in late January.

Activity patterns. Based on radio-tracking studies, the species uses narrow crevices in vertical rock faces as day roosts. It produces low-intensity LD-FM echolocation calls with a low peak frequency (22 + 0-6 kHz SD), narrow bandwidth (13-5 + 2-9 kHz SD), and short duration (2-6 + 0-8 milliseconds SD).

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. Jacobs et al. (2005), Kearney (2013c), Rautenbach et al. (1993).