280.

Eastern Greenish Yellow Bat

Scotophilus viridis

French: Scotophile verdatre / German: Ostliche Grinliche Hausfledermaus / Spanish: Scotofilo verdoso

Other common names: Green House Bat, Greenish Yellow Bat, Lesser Yellow House Bat

Taxonomy. Nycticejus viridis Peters, 1852,

Mozambique Island, Mozambique.

See S. leucogaster . The names leucogaster, borbonicus, viridis, nigrita, and dinganii are taxonomically confused, and data in literature for viridis might be under these names, or other species might be erroneously reported under viridis . The name “S. mhlangani?” is not valid and the criptic South African form must be included in S. viridis . Two subspecies have been tentatively recognized under S. viridis, but cytochrome-b analyses revealed two paraphyletic lineages differing by ¢.12%, and one of them could be reliably identified as S. nigritellus . Monotypic.

Distribution. Much of E & SE Africa as far S as E South Africa and Swaziland; also on Mafia and Mozambique Is.

Descriptive notes. Head-body c. 71-82 mm, tail 34-49 mm, ear 13-18 mm, hindfoot 8-10 mm, forearm 41-51 mm; weight 12-20- 5 g (measurements might include S. 7igritellus). Pelage is smooth, soft, and sleek. Mid-dorsal hairs are ¢. 6 mm. Dorsal pelage is greenish brown to medium brown, with paler bases. Ventral pelage is pale to medium yellow or whitish, pale gray or pale brown. Wings and uropatagium are dark brown and semi-translucent. Ears are short, separated, and dark brown, with inner margin strongly convex and outer margin almost straight. Tragus is moderately long, with rounded tip and concave anterior margin. Eyes are small. Testes are posterior to anus. Adult females have one pair of functional nipples. Skull is medium (greatest skull lengths 15-6-18- 3 mm) for Scotophilus; sagittal crest and occipital helmet are well developed; and profile of skull is mostly a 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 with two ridges. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 36 and FNa = 54 in South Africa.

Habitat. Coastal forests (Tanzania) and miombo woodlands dominated by Brachystegia (Fabaceae), Kirkia (Kirkiaceae), and Sterculia (Malvaceae), mostly near streams (Malawi).

Food and Feeding. In Malawi, the Eastern Greenish Yellow Bat forages by slow hawking in clearings and moderately uncluttered spaces between tree trunks. In Kruger National Park, north-eastern South Africa, individuals moved toward a river apparently to drink before returning to their roosts. In coastal Kenya during dry season, stomachs ofsix individuals contained mainly Coleoptera and Hemiptera, with Orthoptera, Diptera, Homoptera, and other unidentified insects. In Kruger National Park, feces of eight individuals in dry season contained c.50% Coleoptera, with Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Hemiptera less represented.

Breeding. Litter size is two. Reproductive chronology in Kruger National Park is seasonally monoestrous, with insemination, ovulation, and fertilization in autumn. Embryo remains in morula stage for 6-8 weeks,followed by blastocyst stage of ¢.2 months. Implantation occursafter c.3 weeks. With warmer weather, embryogenesis accelerates and parturition occurs in November. In Malawi, eight adult females were lactating in December, one was post-lactating in February, and seven were not pregnant or lactating in April-May. Volant young were recorded in October-January. Limited data from Malawi suggest seasonal monoestry, with births at end of dry season and beginning of wet season (October-November).

Activity patterns. The Eastern Greenish Yellow Bat is able to take off from the ground. Aspectratio is low, wing loading is medium, flight is fast and agile, and maneuverability is moderate. Day roosts are in hollows of mopane trees ( Colophospermum mopane, Fabaceae), most of them in living trees. Radio-tracked males and females used 2-6 roosts during 4-10-day studies, but single roosts were not used for more than 3-4 days. Most females were active at 19:00-21:00 h (coinciding with peak insect abundance), and most males were active at 21:00-22:00 h. Mean echolocation call parameters were peak frequency of 46-9 kHz and duration of 2-9 milliseconds in Simangaliso Wetland Park, eastern South Africa. In Swaziland, mean minimum frequency was 39-8 kHz (38-:5-41-2 kHz), frequency of the knee was 42-7 kHz (41-6-43-7 KHz), characteristic frequency was 40-1 kHz (38-:8-42-4 kHz), and duration was 3-5 milliseconds (2-5 milliseconds). Calls could be detected up to 15 m.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. Cotterill & Giddings (1987), Fenton et al. (1985), van der Merwe et al. (1988), Monadjem, Shapiro et al. (2017), Robbins et al. (1985), Ruedas et al. (1990), Schlitter et al. (1980), Schoeman & Waddington (2011), Vallo, Benda & Reiter (2011), Van Cakenberghe & Happold (2013r).