''Mops pusillus'' is a species of

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

in the family Molossidae. It is found on islands off the coast of east

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Taxonomy

This bat was originally considered a distinct species, before being relegated to a synonym of '' M. pumilus''. However, the presumed Seychelles populations of ''M. pumilus'' were discovered to be smaller than the ones in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, leading to the resurrection of the name as a distinct species.

Description

The bat has a blackish-brown dorsum, brown throat, and dark brown chest. It has a dark brown venter, with a small white mid-ventral patch in rare cases. Comorian populations of the bat have a distinct whitish or beige strip of hairs at the base of the wings. There is a possibility of inter-island seasonal variation in reproduction.

Habitat and distribution

The bat is found in the

Comoro Islands The Comoro Islands or Comoros ( Shikomori ''Komori''; ar, جزر القمر , ''Juzur al-qamar''; french: Les Comores) form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the southeastern coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and northw ...

and

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

. On Comoros, it was not observed roosting in natural sites, but instead mostly in the attics of public buildings. Moreover, the bats were observed to roost in older-style colonial buildings, but not in modern buildings. Their roosting may also be seasonal, as they have been observed abandoning roosts during the cold season.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q8344469 Bats of Africa Mammals described in 1902 Taxa named by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. Mammals of the Comoros Mammals of Seychelles Mops (bat)