Rhinolophus landeri, Martin, 1838

Burgin, Connor, 2019, Rhinolophidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 280-332 : 282

4 . Lander’s Horseshoe Bat

Rhinolophus landeri

French: Rhinolophe de Lander / German: Lander-Hufeisennase / Spanish: Herradura de Lander

Taxonomy. Rhinolophus landeri Martin, 1838 ,

“ Insulâ Fernando Po [= Bioko Island ],” Equatorial Guinea.

Rhinolophus landeri is in the landeri species group. Rhinolophus lobatus was previously included in R landeri as a subspecies, but recent studies have determined that the two taxa are morphologically and genetically distinct and do not cluster together in phylogenetic reconstructions. Although exact distributions of R landeri and R lobatus are uncertain, arrangement suggested by P. J. Taylor and colleagues in 2018 is followed here, in which all eastern and southern African populations are assigned to R lobatus and all western and central African populations are assigned to R landeri . Monotypic.

Distribution. From S Mauritania and Senegal through most ofW & C Africa to S Sudan, South Sudan, and Ethiopia, including Bioko I. Distributional limits are still uncertain.

Descriptive notes. Head-body c. 52-60 mm, tail 27 mm, ear 13-20 mm, hindfoot 7 9 mm, forearm 35-49 mm; weight 5-11 g. Pelage is dense and soft, being brownish fawn to grayish brown (gray morph) or golden brown to bright rusty brown (orange morph) dorsally and slightly paler brown (gray morph) or lighter golden brown (orange morph) ventrally. Males often have dark reddish brown to dark reddish axillary tufts that secret sticky yellow substance. Wings and interfemoral membrane are dark grayish brown to blackish brown. Ears are short (34-42% of forearm length). Noseleaf has hastate lancet with pointed tip, being shorter than in Peters’s Horseshoe Bat (A lobatus ); connecting process is subtriangular with tip either sharply or blundy pointed, being less erect than in Peters’s Horseshoe Bat; sella is naked and narrow, with slightly concave sides and top being broad and rounded; horseshoe is narrow at 6-8 mm but covers entire muzzle; there are no lateral leaflets; and median emargination is deep notch. Lower lip has well-defined medium groove and two very poorly defined lateral grooves. In general, baculum is shorter with distinctly bulbous tip that in Peters’s Horseshoe Bat Skull is of medium build; zygomatic width is slighdy greater than mastoid width; nasal swellings are narrow compared with Peters’s Horseshoe Bat; braincase is elongated compared with Peters’s Horseshoe Bat; sagittal crest is low to moderately developed anteriorly; and frontal depression is usually shallow. P2 is positioned in tooth row because of its relatively large size, which results in larger space between C1 and P4; P3 is small and slighdy to completely displaced labially; P2 and P4 are separated by narrow gap or are in contact; and P2 is only a litde smaller than P 4. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 58 and FNa = 64 ( Senegal).

Habitat. Various habitats including lowland and montane primary rainforests, disturbed forests, and riverine woodlands from sea level to elevations of c. 1800 m. Lander’s Horseshoe Bats have been recorded in lowland rainforest and degraded forests in West Africa, occurring in Isoberlinia (Fabaceae) woodland and often near rivers and riverine woodlands throughout their distribution. In Ethiopia, they have been recorded at elevations of 515-1800 m. They also occur in montane vegetation at 1400 m on Mount Cameroon in Cameroon and primary rainforest at 1000 m on Mount Bintumani in Sierra Leone.

Food and Feeding. Lander’s Horseshoe Bat is insectivorous. It is a slow hawker that often forages within 6 m of the ground at night. Although fly-catching and gleaning have not been reported, they are expected to occur. Moths and beetles seem to make up a large proportion of diets. In Sudan, small beetles made up a large proportion of diets.

Breeding. Lander’s Horseshoe Bat is seasonally monoestrous throughout its distribution, copulating in dry seasons. In Nigeria, copulation generally occurs around November but probably into December because ovulation occurs in late November. Implantation is delayed for c.2 months and does not occur until late dry season around February. Births often occur in early wet season but vary throughout the distribution, being in late April in Nigeria. Lactation in Nigeria occurred in April-June. Litters have a single young. Weaning occurs at c.2 months ofage, and for a short period of the early life ofyoung, mothers carry them when they forage.

Activity patterns. Lander’s Horseshoe Bats are active during parts of the night. They roost during the day in colonies or, less commonly, alone and can enter torpor to save energy. Lander’s Horseshoe Bats have great maneuverability and can take offfrom the ground. They are able to fly slowly with bursts of speed and are able to briefly hover. Roosts are commonly found in caves, mine shafts, and crevices in rocks, although some individuals have been found in trees (particularly hollow baobabs, Adansonia , Malvaceae ), thatched buildings, wells, and other holes in the ground. Call shape is FM/CF/FM, with F component of 103-3 kHz in Guinea, 108-5 kHz (one male) and 105-6 kHz (one female) in Burkina Faso, and 104-3 kHz in Liberia; average F component seems to be lower than in Peters’s Horseshoe Bat.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Lander’s Horseshoe Bats roost alone and in groups of more than 1000 individuals, being largely gregarious. In Nigeria, a cave with more than 1000 individuals has been recorded. Males and females usually are found in the same caves, but before birth, males leave the colony. They often share day roosts with a variety of other bats, including species of Lissonycteris , Nycteris, Coleura , Hipposideros, and other species of Rhinolophus .

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Lander’s Horseshoe Bat is widespread and relatively common with no major known conservati ^ ® threats.

Bibliography. ACR (2018), Aggundey & Schütter (1984), Brown & Dunlop (1997), Csorba et al. (2003), Dool, Puechmaille, Foley et al. (2016), Happold, M. (2013s), Hayman et al. (1966), Kangoyé et al. (2015), Koopman (1975,1989), Koopman, Kofron & Chapman (1995), Koopman, Mumford & Heisterberg (1978), Menzies (1973), Monadjem, Taylor, Jacobs & Cotterill (2017 b), Rosevear (1965), Taylor (1998), Taylor, Macdonald et al. (2018).

Figures

On following pages: 4. Lander's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus landeri); 5. Guinean Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus guineensis); 6. Blasius's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus blasii); 7. Peters's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus lobatus); 8. Swinny's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus swinnyi); 9. Cape Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus capensis); 10. Gorongosa Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus gorongosae); 11. Roberts's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus rhodesiae); 12. Bushveld Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus simulato/); 13. Dent's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus denti); 14. Cameroon Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus alticolus); 15. Mehely's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus mehelyi); 16. Mediterranean Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus euryale); 17. Hildebrandt's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus hildebrandtii); 18. Mount Mabu Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus mabuensis); 19. Cohen's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus cohenae); 20. Smithers's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus smithersi); 21. Mozambican Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus mossambicus); 22. Rüppell's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus fumigatus); 23. Eloquent Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus Bloquons).

Distribution. From S Mauritania and Senegal through most ofW & C Africa to S Sudan , South Sudan , and Ethiopia , including Bioko I. Distributional limits are still uncertain.