Rhinolophus alticolus Sanborn 1936
Creators: name: Burgin, Connor
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Rhinolophidae
Rhinolophus
Rhinolophus alticolus

description: 14. Cameroon Horseshoe <b>Bat</b> <i>Rhinolophus alticolus</i> French: Rhinolophe du <i>Cameroun</i> / <b>German:</b> Kamerun-Hufeisennase / <b>Spanish:</b> Herradura <i>de</i> Camerûn Taxonomy. <i>Rhinolophus alcyone alticolus</i> Sanborn, 1936, “ cave at 5,800 feet [= 1768 m] on <i>Mount</i> Cameroon, Cameroon Mandate.” <i>Rhinolophus alticolus</i> generally has been included as a subspecies of <i>R simulator,</i> but it is considered a separate species here due to its morphological distinction and distributional discontinuity. <i>Rhinolophus alticolus</i> is in the <i>capensis</i> species group, although its genetic material is not available and additional research is needed. Monotypic. Distribution. N Liberia, SE Guinea, Nigeria, and W Cameroon. Descriptive <b>notes.</b> Head-body 55-56 mm, tail 22-26 mm, ear 21 mm, hindfoot c. 7- 10 mm, forearm 49 mm; weight 12- 5 g. Dorsal pelage ranges from dark brown to grayish brown (hairs are paler at bases); venter is distinctly paler. No orange morph is known. Males lack axillary tufts. Ears are short (c.42-8% of forearm length). Noseleaf has triangular lancet, with straight or <i>only slighdy</i> concave sides (distincdy different than the Bushveld Horseshoe <b>Bat</b>, <i>R simulator)</i>; connecting process is rounded; sella is naked, with sides nearly parallel or slighdy concave (wider than in the Bushveld Horseshoe Bat); narial lobes at base of sella are comparatively well developed; and horseshoe is moderate in width (wider than in the Bushveld Horseshoe Bat), with very indistinct lateral leaflets and deeply notched anterior emargination. Lower lip has three grooves, although lateral grooves are indistinct in some specimens. <i>Wings</i> are dark brown or dark grayish brown, and uropatagium is nearly black. Skull is <i>delicately</i> built, with thin zygomatic arches and zygomatic width less than or equal to mastoid width; nasal swellings are <i>relatively</i> high and rounded; frontal depression is moderately deep; and sagittal crest is very <i>underdeveloped</i> and very low. Palatal bridge is 38% of upper tooth row length; P2 is small to medium-sized and in tooth row, separating C1 and P4; <i>Q</i> is smaller than C1; and P3 is tiny and completely displaced labially, allowing contact between P2 and P4. <b>Habitat.</b> Lowland and montane rainforests and forest savanna mosaics. Cameroon Horseshoe Bats occur in lowland rainforests at elevations of <i>c</i>. 130 m in Cameroon; forest savanna mosaic at 2300 m on Jos Plateau, Nigeria; and montane forests at 1400 m and above on Mount Nimba (Guinea and Ivory Coast border). <b>Food and Feeding.</b> Cameroon Horseshoe Bats forage by slow hawking and possibly gleaning. They are known to enter lit rooms at night. <b>Breeding.</b> Cameroon Horseshoe Bats are apparently seasonally monoestrous, although this requires additional research. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Cameroon Horseshoe Bats are nocturnal and active in their roost during the day while other horseshoe bat species are <i>usually</i> torpid. They have been recorded roosting in caves and abandoned mines. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> Cameroon Horseshoe Bats have been recorded singly or in groups. Small groups of four or 25-50 individuals have been recorded roosting together, although some caves are reported with 250 or more individuals. Cameroon Horseshoe Bats have been recorded roosting with Halcyon Horseshoe Bats (<i>AE alcyone).</i> <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Not assessed on <i>The</i> IUCN ed <i>List.</i> The Cameroon Horseshoe <i>Bat</i> was previously included in <i>R simulator,</i> which is classified as Least Concern. It is considered rare and known from <i>only</i> a few scattered locations in <b>West</b> Africa; <i>it</i> apparently occurs in large numbers in Cameroon. <b>Bibliography.</b> ACR (2018), <i>Brosset</i> (1985), <i>Cotterill</i> &amp; Happold (2013d), Csorba <i>et</i> al. (2003), Denys <i>et</i> al. (2013), Hutterer et al. (1992), Monadjem &amp; Fahr (2007), Monadjem, Richards &amp; Denys (2016), Monadjem, Taylor, Jacobs &amp; Cotterill (2017c), Rosevear (1965).
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 page 287, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3748525