276.

White-bellied Yellow Bat

Scotophilus leucogaster

French: Scotophile a ventre blanc / German: Weil 3bauch-Hausfledermaus / Spanish: Scotofilo de vientre blanco

Other common names: Cretzschmar’s Brown Bat, Lesser Yellow House Bat, White-bellied House Bat

Taxonomy. Nycticejus leucogaster Cretzschmar in Ruppell, 1826,

Brunnen Nedger (= Nedger Wel or Bir Nedger), Kordofan Province, Sudan.

Based on multivariate analyses of forearm and cranial measurements, S. leucogaster is distinct from S. viridis but includes damarensis, which might occupy a different ecological niche compared with northern populations of S. leucogaster . Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution. S.l.leucogasterCretzschmar,1826—NofequatorfromMauritaniaandSenegalEtoEthiopiaandNWKenya.

S. l. damarensis Thomas, 1906 — S of equator in SE Kenya, W Angola, W Zambia, S Malawi, Namibia, N Botswana, NW Zimbabwe, and S Mozambique; possibly in NE South Africa.

Descriptive notes. Head-body ¢. 70-75 mm, tail 37-54 mm, ear 11-17 mm, hindfoot 10-13 mm, forearm 43-58 mm; weight 12-27 g. Most body measurements of females in Burkina Faso are larger than males, and males have larger cranial measurements. Pelage is smooth, soft, and sleek. Dorsal pelage is sepia-brown to pale brown, with unicolored hairs or becoming slightly paler toward base. Mid-dorsal hairs are 6-8 mm. Ventral pelage is white to dirty medium brown. Wings and uropatagium are uniformly dark brown and semi-translucent. Ears are comparatively short and widely separated, with inner margin strongly convex and outer margin almoststraight. Tragus tapers to bluntly rounded tip, with concave anterior margin. Eyes are small. Testes are posterior to anus. Skull is medium to large (greatest skull lengths 16:5-20- 3 mm) for Scotophilus; sagittal crest and occipital helmet are well developed; and profile ofskull is mostly gentle slope from front to back, with very shallow concavity in forehead region. I? is unicuspid; M' and M? have concave surfaces and indistinct ridges and appear worn; and M® is very short and has two ridges. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 36 and FNa = 50.

Habitat. Riverine woodland in shrub savannas, over grasslands between riverine forests and Guinea savannas, and under mango trees in West Africa and mopane and miombo woodlands, riverine forests and woodlands, open grasslands, floodplains, and pans south of the equator. In southern Africa, White-bellied Yellow Bats have been mainly recorded in savanna (89%) but also arid habitats (10%).

Food and Feeding. The White-bellied Yellow Bat forages by moderately fast hawking, 2-20 m aboveground, in uncluttered open spaces above trees and over grasslands and moderately uncluttered spaces between tree trunks and tree canopies. In northwestern Zimbabwe (Sengwa Wildlife Research Area), they fed mainly on Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hemiptera but also Hymenoptera, Orthoptera, Homoptera, Neuroptera, and Diptera . Coleoptera and Hemiptera seem to be important in wet seasons, and Lepidoptera is important in dry seasons. Captive individuals ate geckoes and carcasses of mice.

Breeding. Births of White-bellied Yellow Bats were observed in November-December at Sengwa. Littersize is two.

Activity patterns. In Sudan, foraging began soon after sunset, and individuals had full stomachs within the first hour. After that, bouts of foraging were interspersed with pauses for digestion and rest. At Sengwa, foraging only occurred in the first hour of the night. In Mali, day roosts of White-bellied Yellow Bats were under dried leaves of Borassus palms ( Arecaceae). In Sudan, roosts were found in holes in baobab trees ( Adansonia, Malvaceae) and under iron roofs of houses where midday temperatures can be over 40°C. At Sengwa, roosts were found in hollow mopane ( Colophospermum mopane, Fabaceae). Twelve FM/QCEF type calls were recorded at Maroua, northern Cameroon, with mean maximum frequency of 55-7 kHz (48-5-64-1 kHz), mean minimum frequency of 50-6 kHz (46-1-56-3 kHz), mean frequency of 53-2 kHz (47-3- 59-3 kHz), mean frequency of the knee of 55-7 kHz (48-5—-64-1 kHz), mean characteristic frequency of 50-7 kHz (46-1-55 kHz), and mean duration of 0-81 milliseconds (0-44=1 milliseconds). Predators include common barn-owls (7yto alba) that also roost among leaves of palms and bat hawks (Macheiramphus alcinus).

Movements, Home range and Social organization. At Sengwa, day roosts in hollow mopane trees contained 1-9 individuals. Roost fidelity was observed in Sudan but not at Sengwa where radio-tracked individuals regularly switched roosts. While foraging, radio-tracked bats were found up to 3 km away from their roosts. In Sudan, bats were lethargic and flew clumsily at temperatures less than 34°C. Ectoparasites include the mite Spinturnix scotophili (Acari, Spinturnicidae).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red Lust.

Bibliography. Cooper-Bohannon et al. (2016), Herkt et al. (2017), Kangoyé et al. (2015), Manga Mongombe (2012), Robbins et al. (1985), Van Cakenberghe & Happold (2013p).