Commerson's roundleaf bat (''Macronycteris commersoni''), also known as Commerson's leaf-nosed bat, is a species of bat

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 ...

. It is named after French naturalist

Philibert Commerson Philibert Commerson (; 18 November 1727 – 14 March 1773), sometimes spelled Commerçon by contemporaries, was a French naturalist, best known for accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of circumnavigation in 1766–1769. ...

(1727-1773). Bat populations of Africa or

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...

formerly considered part of this species are now classified separately as '' M. gigas'', '' M. thomensis'' or '' M. vattatus'', while one from Madagascar was split off to become '' M. cryptovalorona''. It was formerly placed in the genus ''

Hipposideros ''Hipposideros'' is one of the most diverse genera of bats, with more than 70 species. They are collectively called roundleaf bats after the shape of their nasal ornament. It is the type genus of the family Hipposideridae. It is divided into spe ...

'', but moved to the resurrected ''

Macronycteris ''Macronycteris'' is a genus of bats belonging to the family Hipposideridae The Hipposideridae are a family of bats commonly known as the Old World leaf-nosed bats. While it has often been seen as a subfamily, Hipposiderinae, of the family Rh ...

'' in 2017 on the basis of molecular evidence.

Distribution and habitat

The species is found in forests of several types on Madagascar, including

dry deciduous forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

, littoral forest and

gallery forest A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above th ...

, at elevations from sea level to at least 1350 m. It roosts in caves, on mature trees and in buildings. While its habitat is largely intact forest, it sometimes feeds near or in villages.

Biology

Commerson's roundleaf bat is a specialized predator of

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

s. It exhibits significant

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

, with males being larger. Females vary in morphology with latitude. During the winter these bats are either inactive or they migrate to different locations.

Conservation

Populations are threatened by

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

and hunting. The bats are particularly vulnerable to hunting as they emerge from roosting sites at dusk. Large harvests of them are apparently taken throughout west Madagascar wherever their roosting sites are in proximity to settlements. The species is present in a number of national parks and protected forests (

Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park The Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park is a national park located in Melaky Region, northwest Madagascar. The national park centers on two geological formations: the ''Great Tsingy'' and the ''Little Tsingy''. Together with the adjacent Tsingy de ...

Isalo National Park Isalo National Park is a National Park in the Ihorombe Region of Madagascar, in the southwestern corner of the Province of Fianarantsoa. The closest town is Ranohira, and the closest cities are Toliara and Ihosy. It is a sandstone landscape that ...

Ankarafantsika National Park Ankarafantsika National Park is a national park near Andranofasika in the Boeny Region of Madagascar. The closest city is Majunga north of the park. Ankarafantsika is mostly tropical in climate type. The Sakalava people are the predominant ethnic ...

Namoroka National Park Namoroka National Park, formerly known as Tsingy de Namoroka Strict Nature Reserve, is a national park located in the northwestern part of Madagascar in the Mahajanga Province, specifically, the Soalala District. History Namoroka Strict Natur ...

Tsimanampetsotsa National Park Tsimanampetsotsa National Park also spelt Tsimanampetsotse, and known as Tsimanampetsotsa Nature Reserve is a 432 km2 national park on the south-west coast of Madagascar in the region Atsimo-Andrefana. The park is south of Toliara and sout ...

Ankarana Reserve Ankarana Special Reserve in northern Madagascar was created in 1956. It is a small, partially vegetated plateau composed of 150-million-year-old middle Jurassic limestone. With an average annual rainfall of about , the underlying rocks have been e ...

Analamerana Reserve Analamerana Special Reserve (or Analamera) is a wildlife reserve in the north of Madagascar. The reserve was created in 1956 to protect its endemic plants and animals, such as the critically endangered Perrier's sifaka (''Propithecus perrieri''), ...

Amber Mountain National Park Montagne d'Ambre National Park is a national park in the Diana Region of northern Madagascar. The park is known for its endemic flora and fauna, water falls and crater lakes. It is north of the capital, Antananarivo and is one of the most biolog ...

and

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 ...

). Hunting in west Madagascar is thought to have caused in a 20-25% population decline in that region over 15 years. However, the species is widespread across the island and appears to tolerate a degree of habitat degradation. 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 ...

thus classifies it as a "

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

" species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2595749 Mammals described in 1813 Mammals of Madagascar