Platymops setiger Peters 1878
Creators: name: Wilson, Don E.
name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Molossidae
Platymops
Platymops setiger

description: 104. Peters’s Flat-headed Bat <i>Platymops setiger</i> <b>French:</b> Tadaride a téte plate / <b>German:</b> Peters-Flachkopf-Bulldogfledermaus / Spanish: Platimops de Peter <b>Other common names:</b> East African Flat-headed Bat, Flat-headed Free-tailed Bat <b>Taxonomy.</b> Mormopterus setiger Peters, 1878, “ Taita,” Kenya. In 1965, R. L. Peterson recognized two subspecies on the basis of slight size differences, setiger from southern Kenya, and macmillani from elsewhere. However, the geographical range of the species is small and continuous, and this size variation 1s here considered to be clinal so no subspecies are recognized. Form barbatogularus, from South Sudan, was described as a species by D. L. Harrison in 1956, and was included in Platymops setiger by N. B. Simmons in 2005; this form possesses a tuft of brownish hairsin the gular sac, not found in other members of the species. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> SE South Sudan, SW Ethiopia, and Kenya; possibly in adjacent Uganda. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body ¢.50-78 mm, tail 22-36 mm, ear 11-17 mm, hindfoot 7-8 mm, forearm 26-36 mm; weight 7-18 g. Peters’s Flat-headed Bat is distinguished by wart-like granulations on its forearm, thumb, third metacarpal, and tail, and by extremely flattened head and body. Fur is short and pale sepia-brown, rusty brown, brownish gray or blackish above; rusty yellow or creamy white below; sometimes with darker lateral stripe from neck extending along each flank, with a narrow band of brownish, rusty-yellow or creamy-white pelage between lateral stripe and wing membrane. Wings are semi-translucent, lightly pigmented with dark brown, especially over bones. Upper lip is thick and rigid, with many tiny wrinkles, creating a skirt-like appearance, and many dense, stiff bristles. Ears are dark brown, well separated, and without complex folds. There is no interaural crest. Small gular sac is present in both sexes, in the form barbatogularis containing tuft of coarse, brownish hairs, but untufted in other forms. Anterior palatal emargination is narrow, and basisphenoid pits are absent. As in Mormopterus and Sauromys, lacrimal ridges form distinct tubercle on each side of rostrum. M? has two ridges of equal length. Anterior upper premolar is absent in adults but present as milk tooth in subadults. Dental formula is probably11/2,C1/1,P 2/2, M 3/3 (x2) = 30. Chromosomal complement in Kenya has 2n = 48 and FNa = 54. <b>Habitat.</b> Dry savanna, where associated with dry stony areas close to waterholes. Elevational range up to 2000 m. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> Peters’s Flat-headed Bats have been recorded flying at heights of up to 9 m over wetlands. Small beetles are included in their diet. <b>Breeding.</b> Peters’s Flat-headed Bats have a single young. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Peters’s Flat-headed Bats have a specialized flat head and body for roosting in narrow crevices under rocks and stones and in fissures in granite cliffs. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> Peters’s Flatheaded Bats have been recorded roosting singly or in groups of up to five. They may cohabit in cracks with scorpions. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. <b>Bibliography.</b> ACR (2017), Happold, M. (2013ah), Monadjem, Fahr, Bergmans, Mickleburgh, Hutson &amp; Cotterill (2017b), Harrison (19564), Harrison &amp; Fleetwood (1960), O'Shea &amp; Vaughan (1980), Peterson (1965a), Simmons (2005).
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 663-664, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6418279