136.

Botswanan Long-eared Bat

Laephotis botswanae

French: Vespére du Botswana / German: Botswana-Langohrfledermaus / Spanish: Laefotis de Botsuana

Other common names: Botswana Long-eared Bat

Taxonomy. Laephotis botswanae Setzer, 1971,

“ 50 mi. [= 80 km] W, 12 mi. [= 19 km] Shakawe, Botswana.”

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Extreme S DR Congo, SW Tanzania, SW Angola, Zambia, Malawi, NE Namibia, NW Botswana, Zimbabwe, and NE South Africa.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 47-55 mm, tail 39-47 mm, ear 17-22 mm, hindfoot 7-8 mm, forearm 30-39 mm; weight 5-8 g.

Pelage is soft, slightly shaggy on rump; dorsally reddish brown, chocolate-brown or pale brown (hairs distinctly bicolored, with blackish-brown bases of ¢. 6 mm, and reddish-brown, chocolate-brown or pale brown tips of ¢. 2 mm; mid-dorsal hairs ¢. 8 mm long); ventrally creamy brown on chin, paler on throat, becoming cream or white in pelvic region (hairs in pelvic region pure white; elsewhere with blackish-brown bases of ¢. 4 mm and creamy-brown, creamy or white tips of c. 4 mm). Wings are dark brown; arm-wing usually has whitish hind border; interfemoral membrane is paler and more translucent than wings. Ears are pale to medium brown, roughly triangular with broad base and rounded tip, with inner margins almost meeting on forehead, but notjoined; tragus is large and triangular. Skull is similar to that of other Laephotis, medium for the genus (greatest skull lengths 14-4-15-5 mm); braincase is slightly flattened; rostrum is moderately narrow; zygomatic arches are slender; sagittal crest is absent; lambdoidal crests are low. P* is sharply pointed and rises above molars. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 34 and FNa = 50.

Habitat. Usually found over or close to water, in riverine woodland or woodland savanna. In Malawi, recorded near streams and lakes in montane and submontane evergreen forest at 1520-1700 m, in miombo woodland near submontane rainforest at 1350-1500 m, in mosaic of miombo woodland, farmland and riverine woodland near rocky hills, dams, streams and marshes at 1000 m, and in ornamental gardens in the town of Zomba, at 800-900 m, with rocky hills nearby.

Food and Feeding. Botswanan Long-eared Bats forage by slow hawking. Diet in Zimbabwe reported to include Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Trichoptera in the cool season, and Lepidoptera in the wet season; the identity of the individuals was not confirmed.

Breeding. Near Namadzi, southern Malawi, two adult females were lactating, and one was reproductively inactive in December; two of two were reproductively inactive in January; and two of two were post-lactating in February. Two subadults were captured in January and February.

Activity patterns. Aspect ratio is low, wing loading is very low; flight is highly maneuverable; the species can take off from the ground. A pair was reported roosting under the bark of a broken limb ofa tree. It becomes torpid during the day at ambient temperatures of 21-24°C. Echolocation parameters for six individuals from Malawi were: search-phase call shape steep FM/QCEF,start frequencies 60-72 kHz, end frequencies 29-33 kHz, peak frequencies 29-33 kHz, and call durations c.3-5 milliseconds.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. A post-lactating female and a subadult male were mist-netted together in Malawi. A reproductively inactive female, a lactating one, and a male with abdominaltestes were captured in one mist net at intervals of 15 and five minutes respectively.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Fenton & Bell (1981), Kearney (2013b), Rautenbach et al. (1993).