Scotophilus livingstonii, B, 2014

Brooks, Daniel M. & Bickham, John W., 2014, New Species Of Scotophilus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) From Sub-Saharan Africa, Occasional Papers of the Museum 326, No. 326, pp. 1-24 : 11-14

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15748542
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15800426
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/17697141-FF96-DD7D-FC13-B7FBD47AFC37
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Scotophilus livingstonii
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Scotophilus livingstonii View in CoL , new species

Livingstone’s House Bat

Holotype. — Voucher CMNH 98051 View Materials ( Fig. 4 View Figure 4 ); adult male; standard skin and skull deposited at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA). Collected on 8 November 1985 by Duane Schlitter. Prepared by Duane Schlitter, field number 7394. Muscle tissue sample TK 33534 . GoogleMaps External measurements (mm) are: head-body length 85.4; tail length 48.4; hind foot length 10.0; ear length 9.2; forearm 51.8. Cranial measurements (mm) are: greatest skull length 18.9; zygomatic breadth 13.9; braincase breadth 9.3; braincase height 8.2; interorbital width 4.4; greatest breadth across upper molars 9.0; greatest breadth across upper canines 6.9; mandibular length 14.4.

Type locality. — Kenya: Western Province, Kakamega District, Ikuywa River GoogleMaps Bridge, 6.5 km S, 19 km E Kakamega (0º13'N, 34º55'E).

Paratypes. —Two additional specimens were collected from Kenya and Ghana and based on morphological and genetic data are designated as paratypes. The first paratype is voucher CMNH 98053 View Materials ; adult female; standard skin and skull deposited at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA). Collected on 8 November 1985 by Duane Schlitter from Ikuywa River Bridge , 6.5 km S, 19 km E Kakamega (0º13'N, 34º55'E), Kakamega District, Western Province , Kenya. Prepared by Duane Schlitter (field number 7396). Tissue sample TK 33536 . GoogleMaps External GoogleMaps measurements (mm) are: head-body length 85.7; tail length 50.6; hind foot length 9.9; ear length 9.2; forearm 51.7. Cranial GoogleMaps measurements (mm) are: greatest skull length 18.9; zygomatic breadth 13.9; braincase breadth 9.1; braincase height 8.0; interorbital width 4.4; greatest breadth across upper molars 9.0; greatest breadth across upper canines 6.8; mandibular length 14.4.

The second paratype is voucher NMNH 412150 View Materials ; adult female; standard skin and skull deposited at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA). Collected on 22 July 1967 by Bruce Hayward at University of Ghana Botanical Garden (5º40'N, 10º12'W), Legon , Eastern (Greater Accra) Region , Ghana. Prepared by Bruce Hayward (field number 4135). GoogleMaps External GoogleMaps measurements (mm) are: head-body length 87.4; tail length 45.3; hind foot length 12.3; ear length 10.0; forearm 54.0. Cranial GoogleMaps measurements (mm) are: greatest skull length 18.7; zygomatic breadth 14.2; braincase breadth 9.2; braincase height 8.3; interorbital width 4.5; greatest breadth across upper molars 9.3; greatest breadth across upper canines 7.2; mandibular length 14.8.

Distribution. —The specimens are known from two international localities in southeast Ghana and southwest Kenya spanning approximately 3941 km ( Fig. 3 View Figure 3 ) with respective altitudes ranging from approximately 100 to 1530 m asl. Two additional specimens (skulls only), CMNH 102250 and 102251, were collected at a nearby locality in the Kakamega District of Kenya: 5 km S, 16 km E Kakamega (0º14'N, 34º54'E).

Etymology. —It is our honor to name this species for the late David Livingstone (1813–1873). At a time when most of Africa was barely known compared to today, Livingstone, a young Scot of humble means, explored central Africa. Between 1841 and his death in 1873, Livingstone made several expeditions into the interior of the continent, mapping uncharted lands and searching for navigable waterways.

Diagnosis.— Scotophilus livingstonii is distinguished from S. dinganii from Natal by a combination of external and craniodental features. S. livingstonii averages larger overall in body size ( Table 1 View Table 1 ). Additionally the dorsal pelage in S. livingstonii is more reddish-mahogany than the browner dorsal fur of S. dinganii , and the ventral abdominal pelage in S. livingstonii is light buff vs. a much darker grey in S. dinganii .

Scotophilus livingstonii is also distinguished from S. dinganii from Natal by cranio-dental measurements. Male S. livingstonii have a shorter mean skull length (18.9 in S. livingstonii vs. 19.6 for S. dinganii ; Table 2 View Table 2 ), and females have a longer mean mandibular length (14.6 in S. livingstonii vs. 13.9 mm for S. dinganii ) ( Table 3 View Table 3 ).

Description.— Scotophilus livingstonii has a forearm length ranging 51.7–55.6 mm. Dorsal fur is reddish brown. Ventral fur is buff with darker orange hue on throat and lower abdominal sides. Ears range 9.2–12.0 mm with rounded tips. Ventral plagiopatagium is hairy proximal to forearm. Dorsal plagiopatagium, uropatagium, dactylopatagium, tail, legs, and feet are naked.

Premaxillae deeply notched and wide. Sagittal crest is prominent along entire braincase. Skull is broad with wide orbits. Zygomatic arch is thin. Vomer is wide. Tympanic bullae are spherical and well developed. Foramen magnum is round to slightly oval. Occipital condyles are well developed.

Upper incisors (I1) are bilobate with inner cusp longer than outer cusp. Upper canines (C1) are long and well developed. Paracone of upper premolar (P1) is much longer than metacone, which is longer than hypocone. P1 has a similar diameter and metacone length as molars M1 and M2. Upper molars M1 and M2 similar in size and structure, with triangular outline in occlusal view, interior edge shortest. Metacone of M1 and M2 similar in length to paracone, and both longer than the hypocone. The last molar (M3) is highly reduced, similar in appearance to metacone and proximal hypocone of M2 with an ellipsoidal outline in occlusal view.

Lower incisors (I1–I3) are small. I1 and I2 present poorly developed bilobate. Lower canine is long and well developed. First lower premolar (P1) is shorter than canine. Lower molars (M1–M3) are similar in size and structure, with trapezoid outline in occlusal view, exterior edge shortest. Paracone of M1–M3 longer than metacone, which is longer than hypocone. All mandibular processes are well developed. Coronoid process is triangular pointing upward. Angular process extends to same level as mandibular condyle.

Comments.— S. livingstonii was identified as clade 11 by Trujillo et al. (2009). Clade 11 is sister to a clade that includes clade 12 (see below) and nominate S. dinganii (clade 13). Clade 11 included two monophyletic lineages (11A and 11B) that corresponded to specimens from Ghana and Kenya, respectively. These lineages differ by 2.8% in cytochrome- b sequences and they differ from nominate S. dinganii by 5.5% (clade 11A) and 5.2% (clade 11B) which are indicative of species level distinction. The 2.8% difference between the Ghana and Kenya populations indicates these two lineages could be distinct taxa as well (species or subspecies), but more data are required to determine this.