69.

Dobson’s Epauletted Fruit Bat

Epomophorus dobsonii

French: Epomophore de Dobson / German: Dobson-Epaulettenflughund / Spanish: Epoméforo de Dobson

Taxonomy. Epomophorus dobsonii Bocage, 1889,

Quindumbo, Benguela District, Angola.

Epomophorus dobsonii was included in Epomops but noted to have characteristics (e.g. strongly concave interdental palate, palatal ridges, and form of pterygoid wing in skull) that indicated it was closely related to typical Epomophorus, which was confirmed by phylogenetic analyses. Monotypic.

Distribution. Patchily distributed in WC Angola, SE DR Congo, NW & E Zambia, and Malawi, also in isolated localities in E & S Zambia, N Botswana, and possibly Namibia. Records from Rwanda and N Tanzania might be dubious.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 138-185 mm (males) and 130-145 mm (females), tail 0= 12 mm, ear 24-30 mm, hindfoot 24-25 mm, forearm 84-92 mm (males) and 80-88 mm (females); weight 120 g (one male). Males average larger and darker on chest than females. Head is flat; muzzle is long and broad. Eyes are large;irises are chestnut-brown. Ears are dark brown, with anterior and posterior white ear patches. Adult males have white epaulettes, with 18-mm hairs. Dorsum is pale yellowish brown, fawn, or gray-brown, bleached in some individuals; hairs are grayish brown at bases and grayish brown to fawn at tips; and pelage is soft, slightly fluffy, and mid-dorsally c. 13 mm, extending halfway along forearm. Venter is pale cinnamon-brown, with gray, pale brown, or creamy brown tinges; throat and belly are generally palest; and throat is dark gray-brown on adult males and grayish on females. Wings have claw on second digits, and membranes are dark brown, attaching to second toes. Skull with dorsal profile of rostrum is slightly convex; interorbital region is rather flat in lateral view; parietal region is deflected downward; zygomatic arches are sturdy; and post-dental palate strongly concave. There are five thick palatal ridges, of which two are post-dental having two triangular projections and behind them are 3—4 serrated thin ridges; and second ridge is incipiently subdivided, thus resembling typical Epomophorus with six thick ridges.

Habitat. Zambezian Woodland biotic zone, mainly in wetter miombo woodland, secondary Acacia (Fabaceae) wooded grassland, and Afromontane vegetation from sea level up to elevations of 1890 m.

Food and Feeding. Dobson’s Epauletted Fruit Bat is frugivorous and nectarivorous.

Breeding. Litter size of Dobson’s Epauletted Fruit Bat is one or two, with twins being frequent. Three females were pregnant or lactating at the end of August in Angola. In Zambia, young were caught in September—November.

Activity patterns. Dobson’s Epauletted Fruit Bats are nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as Epomops dobsonii). Dobson’s Epauletted Fruit Bat has a wide distribution and large population. It is probably not declining fast enough to be assigned to a higher category. It faces no major threats.

Bibliography. Almeida, FC. et al. (2016), Bergmans (1989), Happold, M. (2013h), Monadjem, Taylor et al. (2010), Taylor (20164).