Rhinolophus lobatus Peters 1852
Creators: name: Burgin, Connor
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Rhinolophidae
Rhinolophus
Rhinolophus lobatus

description: 7. Peters’s Horseshoe <b>Bat</b> <i>Rhinolophus lobatus</i> <b>French</b>: Rhinolophe du Zambèze / <i>German</i>: Peters-Hufeisennase / <b>Spanish</b>: Herradura de Peters Taxonomy. <i>Rhinolophus lobatus</i> Peters, 1852, “Africa orientalis, Sena, Tette, 17° Aust.,” Mozambique. Restricted <b>by</b> R. E. Moreau and colleagues in 1946 by stating, “of these two localities [Sena and Tette], 100 miles [= 161 km] <i>apart</i>, Sena, the lower down the Zambesi [River], may stand as the type-locality.” <i>R... lobatus</i> is in the <i>landeri</i> species group. <b>It</b> has generally been included in <i>R landeri,</i> but <i>recent</i> genetic and morphometric data <i>support</i> its specific status. Although exact distributions of <i>R lobatus</i> and <i>R landeri</i> are uncertain, arrangement suggested by P.J. Taylor and colleagues in 2018 is followed here, in which all eastern and southern African populations are assigned to <i>R lobatus</i> and all western and central African populations are assigned to <i>R landeri.</i> The form <i>angplensis</i> from west Angola named by <i>A</i>, F. de Seabra in 1898 is included in <i> <i>AE</i> lobatus</i> here, <i>but</i> it might be a distinct subspecies or species. There is also considerable variation in morphology and echolocation among different populations in Mozambique that might represent additional cryptic species. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> Only known <b>with</b> certainty from Mozambique (based on recent morphometric studies), <b>but</b> populations from S South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Congo Basin to N Angola and S to Mozambique and NE South Africa, including Unguja I (Zanzibar Archipelago) are <i>tentatively</i> included here. Descriptive notes. Head-body <i>c</i>. 51-56 mm, tail 21-31 mm, ear 14-20 mm, hindfoot 6-12 mm, forearm 43—50 mm; weight 5—10 g. Description comes primarily from Mozambican specimens of Peters’s Horseshoe Bats, and additional comparisons between them and Lander’s Horseshoe Bat (<i>A landeri)</i> are needed. Pelage is dense and soft, being grayish brown dorsally and lighter brown ventrally. Males often have dark reddish brown <i>axillary</i> tufts. <i>Wings</i> and interfemoral membrane are dark grayish brown to blackish brown. Noseleaf has hastate lancet, with bluntly pointed tip, being taller than in Lander’s Horseshoe Bat; connecting <i>process is</i> subtriangular, with tip either sharply or <i>blundy</i> pointed, and is more erect than in Lander’s Horseshoe <i>Bat</i>; sella is naked and narrow, with deeply concave sides and top broad and rounded; horseshoe is narrow at 6—8 mm but covers entire muzzle; there are no lateral leaflets; and median emargination is a deep notch. Lower lip has well-defined medium groove and two very poorly defined lateral grooves. There is also considerable variation between different Mozambique populations (from Pemba, Gorongosa, and Malashane and Chihalatan caves), although they are genetically close to one another. Individuals from Pemba have distinctively robust bacula and noseleaves with evidendy hastate lancets, and individuals from Gorongosa are smaller in external measurements and also have unique noseleaves and bacula. Their noseleaves have small hastate lancets, with bluntly pointed tips, and <i>relatively</i> small and more erect connecting <i>processes</i>, with semi-symmetrical lobes; their bacula are very distinctive, being very short with wide shaft and very small base. There is a chance that this variation was due to examination of subadult individuals without fully developed noseleaves and bacula. Generally, baculum <i>of</i> Peters’s Horseshoe Bat is longer with less bulbous tip than in Lander’s Horseshoe Bat. Skull is medium built; zygomatic width is <i>slighdy</i> greater than mastoid width; rostrum is prognathic (unlike Lander’s Horseshoe Bat); nasal swellings are broad compared with Lander’s Horseshoe Bat; braincase is shortened compared to Lander’s Horseshoe <i>Bat</i>; sagittal crest is low to moderately developed anteriorly; and frontal depression is <i>usually</i> shallow. P2 is positioned in tooth row because of its <i>relatively</i> large size, which results in large space between <i>C</i> 1 and P4. Chromosomal complement has 2 <i>n</i> = 58 and FNa = 60 (South Africa). Habitat. Various sparse woodland regions from sea level to elevations of c. 1980 m on <i>Mount</i> Elgon, Kenya, and less than 1200 m in Zimbabwe. In Malawi and other regions of southern Africa, Peters’s Horseshoe Bats largely occur in woodland savannas, generally near riverine woodlands and other wet regions. <b>Food and</b> Feeding. Peters’s Horseshoe Bat is insectivorous. It is a slow hawker that probably forages close to the ground and might engage in fly-catching and gleaning. In Zimbabwe, remains of c.66 insect species were found under a roost, consisting largely of noctuid moths (92%), butterflies, and several orthopterans. Breeding. Peters’s Horseshoe Bat seems to be seasonally monoestrous. Copulation probably occurs in <i>dry</i> season, and period of delayed implantation might be apparent. Births probably occur later in <i>wet</i> season. Births have been recorded during peak of <i>wet</i> season (November) in Masalani, Kenya, but throughout much of its southern distribution, Peters’s Horseshoe Bats probably give birth in September-November. <i>Young</i> begin to fly by 4-5 weeks old, and they are weaned at <i>c</i>.2 months old. There is limited evidence that young do <i>not</i> breed until their second year. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Peters’s Horseshoe Bats are active through parts of the night. They roost in the day in small colonies or alone and can enter torpor during the day to save energy. Roosts are found predominately in caves but also in rock crevices, hollow trees, buildings, and other man-made structures. Call shape is FM/CF/FM; F component is 102-108 kHz in Mozambique, averaging at 105 kHz in Gorongosa and 106-8 kHz in Chihalatan. It seems to be higher, on average, than in Lander’s Horseshoe Bat, being similar to F component reported in southern Africa (107 kHz) and South Africa (110 kHz). In Bungule, Kenya, F component of 110 kHz was reported, although specific identity of Kenyan populations is currendy uncertain. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> Peters’s Horseshoe Bat roosts alone or in colonies. Colonies have 20-50 individuals in the DR Congo, often <i>associated</i> with Noack’s Leaf-nosed Bat <i>(</i> Hipposideros <i>ruber)</i> and Rüppell’s Horseshoe Bat (<i>A fumigatus).</i> Throughout its distribution in southern Africa, Peters’s Horseshoe Bat has been found in smaller colonies, often with fewer than twelve individuals. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Not assessed on <i>The</i> IUCN <i>ed List.</i> Peters’s Horseshoe Bat is widespread and <i>relatively</i> common and does not seem to have any major threats. Nevertheless, because of its <i>recent</i> status as a distinct species, <i>it</i> is in need of additional research to clarify its conservation status. <b>Bibliography.</b> ACR (2018), Anciaux de Faveaux (1978), Brown &amp; Dunlop (1997), Csorba <i>et</i> al. (2003), Dool, Puechmaille, Foley et <i>al.</i> (2016), enton (1975), Happold, M. (2013 <i>s</i>), Monadjem, Taylor <i>et</i> al. (2010), Moreau <i>et al.</i> (1946), O'Shea &amp;Vaughan (1980), Rautenbach et <i>al.</i> (1993), Seabra (1898), <i>Taylor</i>, Macdonald <i>et al.</i> (2018).
description: Published as part of <i>Burgin, Connor, 2019, Rhinolophidae, pp. 280-332 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on pages 283-284, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3748525