152.
Beatrix’s Butterfly Bat
Glauconycteris beatrix
French: Glauconyctére beatrice / German: Kleine Schmetterlingsfledermaus / Spanish: Glauconicterio pequefio
Other common names: Beatrix's Bat
Taxonomy. Glauconycteris beatrix Thomas, 1901,
“Benito River, French Congo [= Republic of the Congo], fifteen miles [= 24 km] from mouth.”
Form humeralis has been previously treated under G. beatrix, but they are tentatively treated as separate species here. A. Hassanin and colleagues in 2018 retrieved G. beatrix as sister to G. curryae . Monotypic.
Distribution. W & C Africa, from Ivory Coast E through Ghana and Nigeria to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea (including Bioko I), with scattered records from S Gabon, SW Central African Republic, NW Angola, and EC DR Congo.
Descriptive notes. Head-body ¢.36-50 mm, tail 35-51 mm, ear 7-12 mm, hindfoot 6-8-7-5 mm, forearm 35-42 mm; weight 4-9 g. Pelage is dense, with 8-9 mm middorsal hairs. Dorsal and ventral fur is dark sepia-brown. White shoulder spotis present in holotype but apparently usually absent. Ears are very rounded, and separate, short for a vespertilionid and Glauconycteris . Inner margin has rounded lobe at base, and outer margin is connected with well-developed,fleshy lobe on lower lip near corner of mouth. Wings and uropatagium are dark brown and notreticulated. Tibia is long (18-21 mm) for Glauconycteris . Baculum is triangular, with basal part deeply lobed and distal part short and blunt. Head is high-domed, and muzzle is short, broad, and flattish. Skull is small, and profile of forehead is weakly concave compared with other Glauconycteris . I? is bicuspid, with secondary cusp equal in size or smaller than inner cusp. Lower incisors are tricuspid or with four cusps and not crowded. Diploid number is 2n = 22.
Habitat. Generally lowland tropical moist forests but also forests outside rainforest zones. A few Beatrix’s Butterfly Bats were recorded by a waterhole in secondary forest and in cocoa plantations and swamp forests.
Food and Feeding. No information.
Breeding. No information.
Activity patterns. No information.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.
Bibliography. Happold, M. (2013av), Hassanin et al. (2018), Hill & Harrison (1987), Koopman (1989, 1994), Peterson & Smith (1973), Porteret al. (2010).