Mops niveiventer Cabrera &amp; Ruxton 1926
Creators: name: Wilson, Don E.
name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Molossidae
Mops
Mops niveiventer

description: 86. White-bellied Free-tailed Bat <i>Mops niveiventer</i> <b>French:</b> Tadaride a ventre blanc / <b>German:</b> \WeiRbauch-Bulldogfledermaus / Spanish: Mops de vientre blanco <b>Other common names:</b> \White-bellied Mops Bat <b>Taxonomy.</b> Mops angolensis nivewenter Cabrera &amp; Ruxton, 1926, Luluabourg (= Kananga), Kasai-Central Province, DR Congo. This species is monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> Quite sparsely in SC Africa in E &amp; S DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, SW Tanzania, C &amp; E Angola, Zambia, and NW Mozambique; possibly in Malawi. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body c¢.72-79 mm, tail 32-37 mm, ear 18-20 mm, hindfoot 9-11 mm, forearm 44-48 mm; weight 20-30 g. Fur is short, glossy, dark brown or paler chocolate-brown above, often frosted or flecked, with crown and neck black or very dark brown, darker than back; underside is usually cream to pure white, with no mid-ventral markings, but ventral flank-stripe cream or white. Upper lip has 5-6 well-defined wrinkles on each side and many spoon-hairs. Wings are semi-translucent, blackish brown to pale gray; uropatagium is dark brown above, and whitish below. Ears are brown and relatively short (extending halfway along muzzle when laid flat), inner margins connected by interaural band of skin having V-shaped fold and fringe of longer coarse hairs along posterior edge. Tragus is minute and hatchet-shaped, with bend in posterior margin and tip pointed; concealed by antitragus. Anterior palate is closed, and basisphenoid pits are moderately deep. As is typical for Mops, cusps on M? are V-shaped rather than N-shaped, i.e. with third ridge absent. <b>Habitat.</b> Moist woodland savannas, particularly miombo woodland. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> No information. <b>Breeding.</b> In Zambia, pregnant females have been recorded between October and January, and lactating females and juveniles between January and March. Female White-bellied Free-tailed Bats give birth to pale-skinned neonates, compared to the darker-skinned neonates of Angolan Free-tailed Bats (M. condylurus). Litter Size is one. <b>Activity patterns.</b> White-bellied Free-tailed Bats are nocturnal, and roost during the day in hollows in tall miombo trees, making such tall trees an important feature of their habitat; roosts have also been found in cracks in rocks and buildings. The species emits echolocation calls of low frequency (peak frequency ¢.20 kHz), long duration (c.8 milliseconds), and narrow bandwidth. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> White-bellied Free-tailed Bats roost communally during the day in small colonies. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. <b>Bibliography.</b> ACR (2017), Ansell (1967), Cotterill (2000, 2002b, 2013n), Monadjem &amp; Cotterill (2017b), Monadjem, Taylor et al. (2010), Schoeman &amp; Jacobs (2008).
description: Published as part of <i>Don E. Wilson &amp; Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Molossidae, pp. 598-672 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on pages 655-656, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6418279