Laephotis stanleyi
Laephotis stanleyi, also called Stanley's serotine, is a species of vesper bat in the genus Laephotis. It is found across southern Africa. The species was formerly known as N. cf. melckorum, before being named as a species in 2017.
| Laephotis stanleyi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus: | Laephotis |
| Species: | L. stanleyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Laephotis stanleyi (Goodman, Kearney, Ratsimbazafy & Hassanin, 2017) | |
Taxonomy
Laephotis stanleyi was described as a new species in 2017. The holotype had been collected in the Okavango Delta of Botswana in April 2009.[1] The species was previously known as N. cf. melckorum ( cf. from Latin confer), before being named Neoromicia stanleyi in honor of William Stanley, who was the mammal collection manager at the Field Museum of Natural History from 1989 to 2015.[2] In 2020, phylogenetic analysis found it to belong to the genus Laephotis rather than Neoromicia.[3][4]
Description
The species is moderately large-bodied and insectivorous. Its forearm length is 34–39 mm (1.3–1.5 in) and it weighs 6.1–6.8 g (0.22–0.24 oz). It possesses larger cranial features than other species of its genus and is distinguished from N. capensis by a number of bacular characters. It has a dental formula of 2.1.1.33.1.2.3, for a total of 32 teeth.[1]
Range and habitat
The species is found across Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Zambia, and is also presumed to inhabit the northern part of South Africa and Malawi.
References
- Goodman, Steven; Kearney, Teresa; RATSIMBAZAFY, MALALATIANA; Hassanin, Alexandre (2017-02-22). "Description of a new species of Neoromicia (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from southern Africa: A name for "N. cf. melckorum"". Zootaxa. 4236 (2): 351. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4236.2.10. PMID 28264332.
- Van Cakenberghe, Victor; Seamark, Ernest C.J. (May 2017). "Observations, Discussions and Updates: Recent Changes In African Bat Taxonomy (2015 – 2017)" (PDF). African Bat Conservation News. Vol. 45.
- Mammal Diversity Database (2021-08-10), Mammal Diversity Database, doi:10.5281/zenodo.5175993, retrieved 2021-09-19
- Monadjem, Ara; Demos, Terrence C; Dalton, Desire L; Webala, Paul W; Musila, Simon; Kerbis Peterhans, Julian C; Patterson, Bruce D (2020-09-10). "A revision of pipistrelle-like bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in East Africa with the description of new genera and species". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 191 (4): 1114–1146. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa087. ISSN 0024-4082.