230.

Ethiopian Long-eared Bat

Plecotus balensis

French: Oreillard d'Ethiopie / German: Bale-Langohr / Spanish: Orejudo de Etiopia

Other common names: Bale Long-eared Bat, Ethiopian Big-eared Bat

Taxonomy. Plecotus balensis Kruskop & Lavrenchenko, 2000,

“Harenna Forest, Bale Mountains National Park, southern Ethiopia, 6°45’ N, 39°44’ E, 2760 m ASL.”

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Ethiopia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 45-50 mm, tail 47-55 mm, ear 37-40 mm, hindfoot 7-8 mm, forearm 36-42 mm; weight 6-5—8: 5 g. The Ethiopian Long-eared Bat is noted for its short snout and dark chestnut-brown fur without paler tips. It is similar to the Brown Long-eared Bat ( P. auritus) but smaller, with more inflated and slightly larger or inflated tympanic bullae (under 4- 3 mm long), slenderer tooth row, and narrower rostrum. Wings dark, and ears dark brown or blackish brown. Muzzle fairly blunt, with small preorbital and rounded supraorbital glands. Baculum is Y-shaped. Braincase medium height and very broad; rostrum quite short and narrow. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 32.

Habitat. Restricted to highlands, in humid evergreen Afro-montane forests at elevations of 2000-3000 m. The few reports available indicate areas such as upper belts of Harenna Forest in Bale Mountains National Park, or Mount Aune Yosef. Also seen foraging in more open parts of forest or at edges of clearings.

Food and Feeding. Feeds on insects caught by perch-hunting and aerial-hawking.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Known only from five localities and previously classified as Vulnerable, but the species is suspected to be more abundant and has been reclassified as Data Deficient. Old reports of similar species such as Christie’s Long-eared Bat ( P. christii) may need reviewing to check for misidentifications. Very poorly known overall;likely to be affected by habitat loss due to timber extraction and agriculture expansion.

Bibliography. Benda, Kiefer et al. (2004), Juste et al. (2004), Kruskop & Lavrenchenko (2000), Lavrenchenko (2000, 2013), Lavrenchenko, Juste & Benda (2008), Lavrenchenko, Kruskop & Morozov (2004), Simmons (2005), Spitzenbergeret al. (2006).