28.

Aellen’s Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus inexspectatus

French: Pipistrelle d'Aellen / German: Aellen-Zwergfledermaus / Spanish: Pipistrela de Aellen

Other common names: Aellen’s Pipistrelle Bat, Central Africa Pipistrelle

Taxonomy. Pipistrellus inexspectatus Aellen, 1959,

“Ngaouyanga, vallée de la haute Benoué, Cameroon.”

Pipustrellus inexspectatus is probably closest to the P. kuhlii group of species. Records previously attributed to it from DR Congo and Kenya are now attributed to Hypsugo eisentrauti . Specific epithet is often misspelled as inexpectatus. Monotypic.

Distribution. W Africa in N Sierra Leone, SW Burkina Faso, C Ghana, N Benin, NW Nigeria, and NC Cameroon; there are potential records from E Sudan and Uganda, but they require additional investigation.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 46-8-47-2 mm,tail 30-37-3 mm, ear 10-13 mm, hindfoot 5-6-6 mm, forearm 31-33 mm; weight 3-5-5 g. Dorsum of Aellen’s Pipistrelle is bright reddish brown to dark brown; venter is reddish cream. Ears are brown and relatively short, with rounded tips; tragus is probably just under 50% the ear length and has concave or straight anterior margin, more or less smoothly convex posterior margin with pronounced basal lobule, and broadly rounded tip. Wings are brown, with distinct white hind border. Uropatagium is paler brown than wing membranes, tail extendsslightly past uropatagium, and postcalcarial lobe is hardly visible. Skull is of medium size and rather robust compared with other African Pipistrellus; braincase is relatively low with moderate breadth; interorbital region is relatively narrow; rostrum is of moderate length and breadth and has well-developed lateral depression just above infraorbital foramina; forehead region is nearly straight to barely concave; I? is long, bicuspid, and straight; I” is small (c.50% the height of I?); P* is tiny and almost never visible above gum; C' and P* touch; and lower molars are myotodont.

Habitat. Dry and moist savannas and woodlands. One Aellen’s Pipistrelle in Maroua, northern Cameroon, was captured over a riverbed, and two individuals from Burkina Faso were captured in wooded savanna along a rupicolous bar and in a gallery forest.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Shape of Aellen’s Pipistrelle’s call is very steep (near vertical), broadband FM; a call reported from Maroua had peak frequency of 54-7 kHz, minimum frequency of 47-7 kHz, mean frequency of 51-2 kHz, knee frequency of 54-7 kHz, characteristic frequency of 47-7 kHz, and duration of 0-46 milliseconds.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Virtually nothing is known about ecology of Aellen’s Pipistrelle. Known distribution is veryscattered, and additional collecting efforts are needed to clarify its conversation status.

Bibliography. ACR (2018), Aellen (1959), Fahr (2008e), Grubb et al. (1998), Hill & Harrison (1987), Kangoye, Ouéda, Granjon et al. (2015), Kangoyé, Ouéda, Thiombiano & Guenda (2012), Manga Mongombe (2012), Monadjem, Richards, Taylor & Stoffberg (2013), Van Cakenberghe & Happold (2013j).