132.

White-winged Serotine

Neoromicia tenuipinnis

French: Vespére a ailes blanches / German: Weilfligel-Zwergfledermaus / Spanish: Neoromicia de alas blancas

Other common names: Slenderwinged Pipistrelle Bat, White-winged Bat, White-winged Pipistrelle Bat

Taxonomy. Vesperus tenuipinnis Peters, 1872,

“ Guinea.”

Treated in Nycterikaupius by H. Menu in 1987. Synonyms include ater (sometimes considered a race) and perhaps bicolor (suggested as possibly a distinct species). Some authors suggest bicolor could be a senior synonym of anchieta (here treated as a species, Hypsugo anchieta). According to D. Kock in 2001, discrepancies between the original description of bicolor and the remaining syntypes in the BMNH raise doubts about the identity of bicolor . Monotypic.

Distribution. Widely distributed from Senegal E to Ethiopia, W Kenya, and N Tanzania, and S to S DR Congo and NW Angola; also Bioko I.

Descriptive notes. Head—body ¢.34-48 mm, tail 28-34 mm, ear 10-14 mm, hindfoot 5:3-8: 5 mm, forearm 28-33 mm; weight 3-7 g. Pelage of the White-winged Serotine is silky and dense; dorsally blackish brown (hairs usually unicolored, but sometimes slightly paler at tip; mid-dorsal hairs ¢. 6 mm long); ventrally whitish or cream, throat and upper chest darker (hairs bicolored, with blackish-brown bases and silvery-white or cream tip). Wings are white to pale yellow when folded, transparent when stretched out; interfemoral membrane is usually darker than wings due to pigmentation. Ears are pale gray to pale brown, subtriangular, with anterior margin straight, posterior margin slightly concave, and tip rounded, measuring 35-47% of forearm length; tragus is 32-50% of ear length, relatively broad, widest above mid-point, with anterior margin almost straight, posterior margin with a sharp angle giving a truncated appearance, and tip rounded. Tibia, hindfoot, and forearm are reddish brown, forearm contrasting strongly with translucent wings. Penis is fairly long (c.5-5b mm). Baculum has tip expanded into almost vertical, lobed plate-like structure. Skull is medium to small compared to other African pipistrelle-like bats (greatest skull lengths 11:6-13 mm); profile of forehead region is weakly concave; skull slopes almost uniformly from muzzle to occiput; occipital helmet is absent. I* is broad to very broad, weakly bicuspid; I” is unicuspid and oneto two-thirds height of I%; P*is present or absent, if present almost always visible above gum in lateral view, and displaced lingually; C' and P* are in contact; lower molars are myotodont. Dental formulais12/3,C1/1,P 1-2/2, M 3/3 (x2) = 32-34. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 36 and FNa = 52.

Habitat. Various habitats, ranging from lowland to montane tropical moist forest, moist savanna, tropical dry forest, mangroves, and cocoa plantations, but mostly lowland rainforest and swamp and coastal forests. Elevational range up to 3200 m.

Food and Feeding. The White-winged Serotine forages by slow to moderately fast hawking in cluttered and open spaces.

Breeding. In Uganda, a pregnant female was caught in early December (Bugoma Forest), three lactating females in January (locality not known), and a pregnant female in late February (Sango Bay Forest). Males with very large testes were noted in June, October, and November; their facial glands were very large and exuded a greasy orange secretion that tinted the entire body, including wings, pinkish, and facial hair seemed to be less dense. In northern Sierra Leone, near Fintonia, one female was lactating in mid-May. In Isongo, western Cameroon, one female was pregnant in early March. Litter size is one.

Activity patterns. Roosting sites include roofs, eaves of houses, and small crevices in houses, with naturalsites including hollow standing trees, under bark and boulders. Call shape is steep FM/QCF; mean start frequency 62 kHz (39-83 kHz), mean end frequency 37 kHz (24-42 kHz), and mean call duration 1-5 milliseconds (0-9-1-9 milliseconds); according to J. Fahr in 2013, these parameters may need confirmation using modern equipment. Predators include bat hawks (Macheiramphus alcinus) and Blanding’s tree snakes (Toxicodryas blandingur).

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The White-winged Serotine roosts singly or in small groups of up to seven. One group found in a hollow tree consisted of two males, four females, and one unsexed individual.

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

Bibliography. Barratt et al. (1995), Crawford-Cabral (1989), Fahr (2013g), Hayman & Hill (1971), Hill & Harrison (1987), Kock (2001a), Koopman (1975, 1993, 1994), McBeeet al. (1987), Menu (1987), Novick (1958), Rosevear (1965), Simmons (2005).