188.

Horn-skinned Serotine

Eptesicus floweri

French: Sérotine de Flower / German: \Warzen-Breitflligelfledermaus / Spanish: Eptesicus de Flower

Other common names: Flower’s Serotine, Horn-skinned Bat, Sudan Horn-skinned Bat

Taxonomy. Glauconycteris flower: de Winton, 1901,

“Wad Mariun [= Wad Madani] about 12 miles [= 19 km] from Khartoum on White Nile,” Sudan.

Eptesicus floweri is often included in a separate subgenus, Rhinopterus, butits systematic position in relation to other Eptesicus 1s uncertain. Monotypic.

Distribution. E Sudan and one record from SE Mauritania; possibly also known from Mali, although these specimens may represent a different species.

Descriptive notes. Head-body c.45-47 mm, tail 34-36 mm, ear 10 mm (one specimen), forearm 33-2-38 mm. The Horn-skinned Serotine is characterized by its unique horny warts (denticles) on dorsal surfaces ofits forearms, tibiae, and tail. Dorsal pelage is yellowish fawn to pale rusty brown (hairs unicolored). Ventral pelageis yellowish brown on throat, becoming pale or pure white down to abdomen (hairs unicolored). Bare parts of face and ears are dark brown, and wings and uropatagium are pale brown (holotype and another specimen also have very faint pale hind wing border). Ears are relatively short and subtriangular, with rounded tips; tragusis less than one-half the ear length, anterior margin is straight, posterior margin is convex with basal lobe, and broadest partis in middle of tragus. Dorsal surface of wings, forearms,tibiae, tail, and anterior three-quarters of uropatagium are thickly covered in unique horny warts that give a spotted appearance. Calcar has fairly well-developed postcalcarial lobe. Baculum is short, flat, and roughly triangular. Skull is small compared with other African Eptesicus; braincase is relatively high and broad; rostrum is short and broad, with almost completely flat dorsal surface; forehead profile is almost straight; sagittal crest is variably moderately to weakly developed or absent; and lambdoidalcrests are moderate to weakly developed. I” is bicuspid (although specimens from Mali had unicuspid I?); I’ is very small and barely exceeds cingulum of I*; and lower molars are myotodont.

Habitat. Subtropical or tropical dry shrublands, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grasslands, and hot deserts, often in association with Acacia (Fabaceae) .

Food and Feeding. Based on wing morphology and slow flight near the ground while foraging, Horn-skinned Serotines are probably slow hawkers. They utter a characteristic squeak while flying.

Breeding. In Sudan, heavily pregnant and lactating Horn-skinned Serotines were captured in mid-November at beginning of hot wet season.

Activity patterns. Horn-skinned Serotines roost by day in dense and thorny Acacia thickets, usually near roots oftrees, and they climb up trees to branches at dusk to take off and forage through the night. Search calls of one individual had peak frequencies of 28-32 kHz and durations of 2—4 milliseconds.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. The Hornskinned Serotine is known from a relatively restricted distribution, spread over a wide area. Not much is known aboutits ecology and threats, but it might be threatened by harvesting of Acacia senegalensis, which is a common roosting location.

Bibliography. ACR (2018), Hayman & Hill (1971), Kock (1969d), Koopman (1975), Monadjem, Fahr, Cotterill et al. (2017), Padial & Ibanez (2005), Van Cakenberghe & Happold (2013c).