Epomophorus labiatus (Temminck, 1837)

Cakenberghe, Victor Van, Tungaluna, Guy-Crispin Gembu, Akawa, Prescott Musaba, Seamark, Ernest & Verheyen, Erik, 2017, The bats of the Congo and of Rwanda and Burundi revisited (Mammalia: Chiroptera), European Journal of Taxonomy 382 (382), pp. 1-327 : 12

Epomophorus labiatus (Temminck, 1837)

Fig. 4 A–B

Pteropus labiatus Temminck, 1837: 83 .

* Epomophorus anurus Heuglin, 1864: 12 .

Bergmans (1988) and Claessen & De Vree (1991) considered E. anurus to be a synonym of E. labiatus . Bergmans (1997: 72), however, pointed out that some of the E. labiatus specimens identified by Claessen & De Vree (1991) might be erroneously assigned to this species, and that their material included multiple species (e.g., E. anselli Bergmans & Van Strien, 2004 ). See also Happold (2013a: 245), who indicated that even more species might be present.

The distribution map indicates that E. labiatus is primarily found along the eastern borders of the DRC and in Rwanda and Burundi, but also that there are some records from the more central parts of the DRC. Specimen RMCA 31127 from Léopoldville (= Kinshasa) probably needs reinvestigation. However, the SDM map indicates that other labiatus specimens have been found in Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana, which might suggest that this species might also occur in the western part of the DRC.

Figures

Fig. 4. Distribution maps. A–B. Epomophorus labiatus (Temminck, 1837). C–D. Epomophorus minimus Claessen & De Vree, 1991. E–F. Epomophorus minor Dobson, 1880. A, C, E. Distribution in the CRB area. B, D, F. Pan-African distribution.