The pied butterfly bat (''Glauconycteris superba''), also known as the pied bat or badger bat, is a rare 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 famili ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Vespertilionidae.

Taxonomy

First discovered in 1939 in

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

, the species was, at that time, placed in the genus ''

Glauconycteris ''Glauconycteris'' is a genus of vespertilionid bats found in 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) ...

'' under the name ''Glauconycteris superba''. Following a 2013 capture in

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...

, only the fifth recorded capture of the species, the pied bat was relocated to an entirely new genus, ''Niumbaha'', named after the Zande word for "rare". Biology professor DeeAnn Reeder, one of the authors of the genus ''Niumbaha'', said, "its cranial characters, its wing characters, its size, the ears – literally everything you look at doesn't fit. It's so unique that we need to create a new genus." However, recognition of ''Niumbaha'' renders ''Glauconycteris'' paraphyletic and it is incorrect to treat ''Niumbaha'' as a valid genus without further splitting of ''Glauconycteris''.' Due to this, both taxa have once again been synonymized.

Description

The distinctive pied bat partly resembles a bee, with light yellow stripes and blotches on its body.

Geographic range

It is found in the

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 ...

, Ivory Coast,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, Equatorial Guinea and

. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland and dry forests.

References

External links

New Striped Bat Species Looks Like a Tiny Flying Bulldog
Wired {{Taxonbar, from=Q1831959 Glauconycteris Bats of Africa Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Mammals described in 1939