The Kirindy serotine (''Neoromicia bemainty'') 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 family

Vespertilionidae 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 ...

. It occurs in the central and south-central portions of western

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 ...

. As of the most recent IUCN assessment in May 2016, it is of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Taxonomy

This species was formerly thought to be related to ''Neoromicia anchieta'' , but has now been proven to be a distinct species endemic to Madagascar. Although it was initially described in the genus ''Hypsugo'', later phylogenetic and morphological evidence found it to belong to the genus ''Neoromicia''.

Distribution and habitat

It inhabits the central and south central portions of western Madagascar. It is known to occur in different forested as well as non-forested zones, from 0 to 870 m in elevation. It is also known to occur in the general vicinity of the

Kirindy Forest Kirindy Forest or Kirindy Private Reserve is a private park situated in western Madagascar, More precisely, the reserve is situated 50 km northeast of the town of Morondava. The Forest goes through two apparent seasons throughout the year, th ...

north of

Morondava Morondava (, from mg, morona lava "long coast") is a city located in Menabe Region, of which it is the capital, in Madagascar. It is located in the delta of the Morandava River at . Its population as of the 2018 census, was 53,510. Population T ...

, which is part of the Menabe Antimena protected area; the

Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park ''Zombitse-Vohibasia'' is a national park in the Atsimo-Andrefana region of south-west Madagascar. It is north-east of the town of Toliara, the site of the nearest airport, and the Welcome Office is at Sakaraha from the park entrance. The park c ...

; the

Kirindy Mitea National Park The Kirindy Mitea National Park is a national park on the coast of the Mozambique Channel, in south-west Madagascar. The park contains many endemic animals and plants and claims to have the greatest density of primates in the world. Geography The ...

; and Amoron'i Onilahy protected area. There is evidence to suggest that it can tolerate an undefined level of human disturbance to its habitat.

Threats

The habitat it is known to inhabit is known to be under stress from logging and clearance for

slash and burn agriculture Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegeta ...

, although the fact that the species is not strictly dependent on forested areas makes it difficult to assess how much of a threat this poses.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q19819457 Neoromicia Mammals described in 2015 Endemic fauna of Madagascar Bats of Africa Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN