The Angolan long-eared bat (''Laephotis angolensis'') is a species of

vesper bat Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat familie ...

in the Vespertilionidae family. It can be found in moist

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 1935 by Albert Monard. In papers published in 1953 and 1971, the Angolan long-eared bat was treated as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

De Winton's long-eared bat De Winton's long-eared bat (''Laephotis wintoni'') is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It can be found in the following countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, and Tanzania. It is found in these habitats: dry sav ...

. However, it is generally treated as a full species at present. It has been suggested that it may be

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with

Botswanan long-eared bat The Botswanan long-eared bat (''Laephotis botswanae'') is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It can be found in the following countries: Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Za ...

. Its

species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

"''

angolensis This list of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names is intended to help those unfamiliar with classical languages to understand and remember the scientific names of organisms. The binomial nomenclature used for animals and plants i ...

''" is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "Angolan," likely in reference to the fact that the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

was encountered near

Dala, Angola Dala is a town and municipality in Lunda Sul Province in Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , re ...

Description

Its

dental formula Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolo ...

is for a total of 32 teeth. The fur of its back is yellowish- or reddish-brown. Ventral fur is pale gray or cream in color.

Range and habitat

It has only been documented in the

Central Zambezian miombo woodlands The Central Zambezian miombo woodlands ecoregion spans southern central Africa. Miombo woodland is the predominant plant community. It is one of the largest ecoregions on the continent, and home to a great variety of wildlife, including many large ...

. Its range includes Angola and the

Conservation

It is considered a locally rare species. As of 2008, it is assessed as a

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

species by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q303234 Laephotis Mammals described in 1935 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Bats of Africa