Hipposideros ruber (Noack, 1893)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Hipposideridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 227-258 : 248-249

60.

Noack’s Leaf-nosed Bat

Hipposideros ruber

French: Phyllorhine de Noack I German: Noack-Rundblattnase I Spanish: Hiposidérido de Noack

Other common names: Noack's Roundleaf Bat

Taxonomy. Phyllorhina rubra Noack, 1893 ,

Ngerengere River, Eastern Province, Tanzania.

Hipposideros ruber was formerly included in the bicolor species group, but is now placed in the ru&erspecies group. There has been much confusion in the literature regarding the taxonomic status of this species, particularly with respect to its relationship with the savanna H. cofferspecies complex. Recent molecular work shows deep divergence between several lineages within this complex. The savanna species H. coffer and H. tephrus are clearly distinct from the rainforest species, based on both morphology and molecular sequences. However, there are at least three distinct species within the rainforest complex. The species Ä ruber (sensu stricto) refers to populations in East Africa. Populations in Central and West Africa refer to different, but as yet unnamed taxa. They have been referred to as separate lineages in the literature, but almost certainly are valid species. This confusion needs urgent attention. Many subspecies have been described but it is not clear what their status is, taxonomy requires reassessment.

Distribution. Widely in tropical Africa, but boundaries of each lineage (presumably separate species) are not known; this species complex occurs almost continuously from Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea E to S Sudan and Ethiopia, and S to Gabon, Republic of the Congo, DR Congo, and Tanzania, with isolated populations in NW Angola, Zambia, Malawi, and N Mozambique; also on Principe and Sâo Tomé Is.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 52-62 mm, tail 30-41 mm, ear 15-19 mm, hindfoot 7-12 mm, forearm 47-55 mm; weight 9-12 g. No obvious sexual differences in pelage or size, although males tend to average slightly larger than females, but with considerable overlap. Noack’s Leaf-nosed Bat has short, rounded wings. Muzzle is relatively short with a large but simple noseleaf that has two lateral leaflets. A frontal sac is present in males. Intemarial septum is not swollen and does not partially cover the nares. Ears are separate, and relatively small. Fur is fine and fluffy, dark grayish brown or dark brown dorsally, paler ventrally; an orange morph exists, which is bright rusty brown or golden dorsally and paler ventrally.

Habitat. Typically lowland rainforest, as well as riparian forest and secondary forest. Noack’s Leaf-nosed Bat does not occur in drier savannas except along rivers. Locally, it occurs at higher elevations—e.g. up to 1000 m on Mount Nimba. It may utilize agricultural land but typically under semi-natural habitats where some indigenous trees and well-developed undergrowth vegetation persists.

Food and Feeding. Noack’s Leaf-nosed Bat is insectivorous, feeding predominandy on beedes but it may also take a variety of other arthropods. It typically forages in cluttered vegetation, departing from the day roost at sunset and returning with bulging stomach two hours later. It may forage within agricultural land, particularly where these are intermixed with natural vegetation.

Breeding. Breeding of Noack’s Leaf-nosed Bat is seasonal, with births of single young occurring at different times in different populations. In Liberia, Central African Republic, and northern DR Congo, young are bom in March-April. In contrast, in Tanzania, which refers to H. ruber (sensu stricto), copulation and fertilization occur in June-July followed by retarded development, births in December and lactation through to February. In Gabon, this species appears to have two birthing seasons in March and October, although there is confusion over the exact species that was studied.

Activity patterns. Noack’s Leaf-nosed Bat roosts during the day in a variety of cavities and structures including caves, hollow trees, holes in the ground, old mines, culverts under roads, and abandoned houses. Like its congeners, it has a low wing loading and low aspect ratio, allowing it to fly in cluttered environments such as thickets, and to take off from the ground. It is active throughout the year. Bats emerge from day roost at sunset and are active throughout the night, but with three peaks of activity corresponding to the first two hours after sunset, an hour around midnight and the hour before sunrise. Males tend to fly for a longer period per night than females. Echolocation call includes a F component that is highly variable and may be distincdy different in different lineages—e.g. at Mount Nimba, in Liberia, one lineage had an echolocation call at 128 kHz, whereas the second lineage called at 148 kHz. Published accounts of echolocation calls of the H. ruber complex typically fall within this range of variation.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Noack’s Leaf-nosed Bat typically roosts in small to very large colonies of over 500 individuals. Individual bats hang separately from the ceiling of the roost but in close proximity to other group-members. In Ghana, mean home range size of 13 radio-tracked bats was 36 ha, and these overlapped extensively between individuals; the foraging area was 50% of the home range. Mean maximum foraging distance from the day roost was 1 • 1 km but extended up to 2-6 km for some individuals, which is within the range predicted for a bat of this size. It occasionally shares its roosting sites with other bat species including various Rhinolophus spp. , Hipposideros spp. and the Angolan Soft-fùrred Fruit Bat ( Lissonycteris angolensis ).

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Noack’s Leaf-nosed Bat complex has a wide distribution, utilizes many different structures as day roosts, and usually occurs in good numbers.

Bibliography. Anciaux de Faveaux (1978), Bernard & Cumming (1997), Brosset (1968), Brosset & Saint Girons (1980), Denys et al. (2013), ahr & Ebigbo (2003), Grubb et al. (1998), Guillén-Servent et al. (2000), Happold, D.C.D. (1987), Happold, D.C.D. & Happold (1990), Happold, M. (2013aa), Hill (1963a), Jones et al. (1993), Kock et al. (2002), Koopman (1989), Koopman et al. (1995), Monadjem & Fahr (2007), Monadjem, Richards & Denys (2016), Monadjem, Richards, Taylor, Denys et al. (2013), Monadjem, Schoeman et al. (2010), Monadjem, Taylor et al. (2010), Nkrumah, Vallo, Klose, Ripperger, Badu, Dorsten et al. (2016), Nkrumah, Vallo, Klose, Ripperger, Badu, Gloza-Rausch et al. (2016), Patterson & Webala (2012), Rosevear (1965), Schütter et al. (1982), Thorn & Kerbis Peterhans(2009), Vallo, Benda et al. (2011), Vallo, Guillén-Servent étal. (2008), Van Cakenberghe et al. (2017), Verschuren (1957,1977,1982),Wolton et al. (1982).

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. Widely in tropical Africa, but boundaries of each lineage (presumably separate species) are not known; this species complex occurs almost continuously from Senegal , Gambia , and Guinea E to S Sudan and Ethiopia , and S to Gabon , Republic of the Congo , DR Congo , and Tanzania , with isolated populations in NW Angola , Zambia , Malawi , and N Mozambique ; also on Principe and Sâo Tomé Is.