Andersen's slit-faced bat

Andersen's slit-faced bat (Nycteris aurita) is a slit-faced bat species found in East Africa. It has been recorded in northern Somalia, through South Sudan and Ethiopia, into Kenya and Tanzania. No information is available on the population size of this species. This species inhabits savanna habitats and semidesert. No records exist regarding the major threats.[1]

Andersen's slit-faced bat
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Nycteridae
Genus: Nycteris
Species:
N. aurita
Binomial name
Nycteris aurita
Synonyms
  • Petalia aurita K. Andersen, 1912

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 1912 by Danish mammalogist Knud Andersen. Andersen placed it in the now-defunct genus Petalia, with a binomial of Petalia aurita.[2] Since at least 1939, however, it has been included in the genus Nycteris.[3] Its species name "aurita" is from Latin "auritus," meaning "having long ears." Of the species, Andersen wrote that it was similar in appearance to the hairy slit-faced bat with the exception of its "much longer" ears.[2] Still, it is often considered as a synonym or subspecies of the hairy slit-faced bat.[4]

Range and habitat

Its range includes several countries in East Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. It is documented in association with savanna habitats, though it has also been found in semi-arid climates[1]

Conservation

As of 2017, it is regarded as a least-concern species by the IUCN. It meets the criteria for this classification because it has a wide geographic range; its population is presumably large; and its habitat extent and quality is not likely to be lost at a fast enough rate to qualify the species for a more threatened category.[1]

References
  1. Monadjem, A.; Bergmans, W.; Mickleburgh, S.; Hutson, A.M. (2017). "Nycteris aurita". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T14927A22017608. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T14927A22017608.en.
  2. Andersen, K. (1912). "LXIV.—Brief diagnoses of eight new Petalia, with a list of the known forms of the genus". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 8. 10 (59): 547–548.
  3. Allen, G. M. (1939). "A checklist of African mammals". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. 83: 68.
  4. Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.