The Azagnyi fruit bat (''Megaloglossus azagnyi''), also called the western Woermann’s fruit bat, is a species of megabat found in Africa.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 2012. Its description was the result of a taxonomic split of the

Woermann's bat Woermann's bat or Woermann's fruit bat (''Megaloglossus woermanni'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Megaloglossus''. It is found in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republi ...

, which was previously the monotypic representative of the genus ''Megaloglossus''. Its species name "''azagnyi''" is derived from Azagny National Park in

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. Azagny National Park is the type locality for the species.

Description

The Azagnyi fruit bat is a relatively small frugivorous bat species, weighing . Its forearm length is . Its fur is uniformly dark brown with ventral fur somewhat paler than dorsal fur. Males have a "collar" of creamy white fur across their necks. Overall, it is similar in appearance to

, though its skull dimensions are smaller.

Range and status

Its range includes several countries in West Africa, including

, Ghana,

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, Sierra Leone, and Togo. It is found in association with lowland rainforests. It is currently evaluated as

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 ...

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 ...

—its lowest conservation priority.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q31072941 Megabats Mammals described in 2012