Hipposideros fuliginosus (Temminck, 1853)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Hipposideridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 227-258 : 248

58. Sooty Leaf-nosed Bat

Hipposideros fuliginosus

French: Phyllorhine fuligineuse / German: Temminck-Rundblattnase / Spanish: Hiposidérido tiznado

Other common names: Sooty Roundleaf Bat

Taxonomy. Phyllorrhina fuliginosa Temminck, 1853 ,

“La côte de Guiné [= coast of Guinea].”

Hipposideros fuliginosus was formerly included in the bicolor species group, but is now placed in the ruber species group. There has been considerable confusion in the literature regarding the distinguishing features of this species, but this has recently been resolved. Monotypic.

Distribution. Patchily across tropical Africa with records in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, extreme SE Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, extreme S Central African Republic, N DR Congo, and SW Uganda.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 80-100 mm, tail 29-40 mm, ear 17-20 mm, hindfoot 11—13 mm, forearm 51—60 mm; weight 18—20 g. The Sooty Leaf-nosed Bat has short, rounded wings. Muzzle is relatively short with large but simple noseleaf that has two lateral leaflets. Frontal sac is absent. Intemarial septum is not swollen and does not partially cover nares. Ears are separate, and relatively small. Fur is relatively coarse and dark brown dorsally, paler ventrally; an orange morph exists which is bright orange or rusty brown. Thumb and thumb claw are well developed compared with other similarsized species of Hipposideros .

Habitat. Lowland rainforest, extending up to 1300 m above sea level in Guinea and Uganda. The Sooty Leaf-nosed Bat also occurs in riparian forest in the rainforest-savanna transition zone.

Food and Feeding. The Sooty Leaf-nosed Bat is likely to be insectivorous. In one study, average capture height was 1-7 m aboveground, indicating that it was mainly foraging in the understory.

Breeding. Based on observations in Ivory Coast, it would appear that there is a single restricted season during which Sooty Leaf-nosed Bat young are bom (young feeding on milk in March and May).

Activity patterns. The Sooty Leaf-nosed Bat roosts in hollow tree trunks. Echolocation call includes a F component at c.120 kHz.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Sooty Leaf-nosed Bats roost in groups of up to 40 bats, comprising adult males and females, and perhaps also subadults orjuveniles. They may share their roosts with the West and Central African form of H. ruber (sensu lato).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The most important threat to the Sooty Leaf-nosed Bat is probably loss of pristine rainforest.

Bibliography. Aellen (1952), ahr (2013k), Grubb eta/. (1998), Hill (1963a), Koopman (1989), Koopman et al. (1995), Monadjem & ahr (2007),Thorn & Kerbis Peterhans (2009), Van Cakenberghe eta/. (2017).

Figures

47. Short-tailed Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros curtus), 49. Aellen’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros marisae), 50. Schneider’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros speoris), 51. Spurred Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros calcaratus), 52. Fawn-colored Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros ceruinus), 53. Cox’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros coxi), 54. Cantor’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros galeritus), 55. Aba Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros abae), 56. Benito Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros beatus), 57. Sundevall’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros caffer), 58. Sooty Leaf-nosed (Bat Hipposiderosfuliginosus), 59. Lamotte’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros lamottei), 60. Noack’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros ruber), 61. Maghreb Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros tephrus), 62. Dusky Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros ater), 63. Bicolored Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros bicolor), 64. Short-headed Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros breviceps), 65. Least Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros cineraceus), 66. Large Mindanao Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros coronatus)

Distribution. Patchily across tropical Africa with records in Sierra Leone , Guinea , Liberia , Ivory Coast , Ghana , extreme SE Nigeria , Cameroon , Gabon , extreme S Central African Republic , N DR Congo , and SW Uganda .