Miniopterus majori, Thomas, 1906

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Miniopteridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 674-709 : 708

32.

Major’s Long-fingered Bat

Miniopterus majori

French: Minioptére de Major / German: MajorLangfllgelfledermaus / Spanish: Minidptero de Major

Other common names: Major's Bent-winged Bat

Taxonomy. Miniopterus majori Thomas, 1906 ,

“Imasindrary, N.E. Betsileo,” Madagascar.

Miniopterus major : was formerly included in M. schreibersii . Monotypic.

Distribution. Widely but patchily distributed across highlands of E Madagascar, with some records from the W & S. Individuals captured on Grande Comore Island in the late 19" century are considered mislabeled individuals from Madagascar.

Descriptive notes. Head-body ¢.60-61 mm, tail 51-60 mm, ear 11-13 mm, hindfoot 7-9 mm, forearm 43-47 mm; weight 8-4-12-5 g. Major’s Long-fingered Bat and the Sororcula Long-fingered Bat ( M. sororculus ) have broad overlap in various external morphological characteristics, but Major’s Long-fingered Bat is, on average, larger. In Major’s Long-fingered Bat, dorsum is darker, approaching rich, dark chocolatebrown, and venteris slightly paler rich dark brown; in contrast, dorsum of the Sororcula Long-fingered Bat is generally rich dark brown, and venter is slightly lighter. In Major’s Long-fingered Bat, tragus (7-8 mm) is slightly longer than in the Sororcula Long-fingered Bat and has distinctly broader base, constricts toward midsection, and then formsslightly arching structure to a rounded point.

Habitat. Various vegetation types including humid forests and thorny bush from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 1000 m.

Food and Feeding. Diet mainly includes Lepidoptera and Hemiptera and to a lesser extent Blattodea, Diptera, Coleoptera , Hymenoptera, Ephemeroptera, and Trichoptera. Prey includes species considered as pest with obvious economic impacts such as the grass webworm (Herpetogramma licarsisalis), a pest of rice, and Sober tabby (FEriceia inangulata), a pest of fruit and soybeans. Other prey (moths) is considered as potential pests (Palpita sp., Achaea euryplaga, Eublemma vette, Chloroclystis androgyna, Ectropis AH 27Md, Idiodes oberthuri, Scopula AHOIMd, Emmalocera sp., Meyrickiella homosema, Celsumaria elongata, and Pandemis retroflua).

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Major's Long-fingered Bat is nocturnal. Considering its elevational range, similar to that of the Sororcula Long-fingered Bat, it is presumed that at least upland populations have similar adaptations for possible hibernation during austral winter. It uses caves as daytime roosts. Echolocation calls have downward FM signals, with maximum frequencies of 64-102 kHz, minimum frequencies of 43-46 kHz, peak frequencies of 46-1-52 kHz, durations of 2-8-4-5 milliseconds, and intervals of 59-5—134-8 milliseconds.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Major’s Long-fingered Bat could be susceptible to cave disturbances and hunting at some sites.

Bibliography. Goodman & Maminirina (2007), Goodman, Bradman et al. (2008), Goodman, Ryan et al. (2007), Kemp et al. (2019), Monadjem, Rakotoarivelo & Jenkins (2017), Ramasindrazana et al. (2011), Thomas (1906).

Figures

18. Villiers’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus villiersi), 19. Greater Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus inflatus), 20. Newton's Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus newtoni), 21. Least Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus minor), 22. Sandy Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus arenarius), 23. African Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus africanus), 24. Natal Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus natalensis), 25. Mozambican Long-fingered Bat (Muniopterus mossambicus), 26. Lesser Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus fraterculus), 27. Aellen’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus aelleni), 28. Griveaud’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus griveaudi), 29. Glen’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus gleni), 30. Madagascar Long-fingered Bat (Manaopterus brachytragos), 31. Montagne d’Ambre Long-fingered Bat (Minaiopterus ambohitrenss), 32. Major’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus majori), 33. Eger’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus egent), 34. Manavil Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus manai), 35. Sororcula Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus sororculus), 36. Peterson’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus petersoni), 37. Mahafaly Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus mahafaliensis), 38. Griffiths’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus griffiths)

Distribution. Widely but patchily distributed across highlands of E Madagascar , with some records from the W & S. Individuals captured on Grande Comore Island in the late 19" century are considered mislabeled individuals from Madagascar .