The Nimba myotis (''Myotis nimbaensis''), also known as the orange-furred bat or Nimba Mountain bat, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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

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 ...

. The species is

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 ...

to the

Nimba Mountains The Nimba Range forms part of the southern extent of the Guinea Highlands. The highest peak is Mount Richard-Molard on the border of Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea, at 1,752 m (5,750 ft). "Mount Nimba" may refer either to Mount Richard-Molar ...

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 ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. It was discovered in 2018 and officially described in 2021 by a team of scientists from the American Museum of Natural History in partnership with a team from The University of Cameroon, which was led by American mammalogist Nancy Simmons.

Description

''M. nimbaensis'' has orange fur with black dichromatic wing pigmentation. It lives in natural caves and

adits An adit (from Latin ''aditus'', entrance) is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, ventilated, and minerals extracted at the lowest convenient level. Adits ...

(abandoned mine shafts) in the Nimba mountain range. The expedition of researchers went out searching for

Lamotte's roundleaf bat Lamotte's roundleaf bat (''Hipposideros lamottei'') is a species of bat found only at Mount Nimba on the border of Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea and Liberia. It is critically endangered. Taxonomy It was described as a new species in 1984 by French zoo ...

(''Hipposideros lamottei'') and accidentally captured ''M. nimbaensis'' in their nets. One of the most fascinating aspects from the study is that researchers believe that there might still be species in the clade that they have yet to discover because of the amount of gene flow between the eleven known species.

Method of Distinguishing

To determine that the bat they captured was a unique species the research team had to distinguish it from species that they are closely related to ('' M. tricolor'' and '' M. welwitschii'') To do this they analyzed the bone structure of each of the species. They also looked at the wing membrane to compare and contrast the differences for each of the species. This finding has helped the researchers trace more of the genus and connect the dots between where the species live. Researchers believe that they might have relatives that came from South Africa and Liberia. They have also found another species that will be protected by the creation of tunnel passage ways to replace the shafts of the mines.

Diet

The diet of ''M. nimbaensis'' is unknown. One could suspect that the diet would resemble that of their near relative the Cape hairy bat (''M. tricolor''). The cape hairy bat eats species like beetles, tree bugs, flies, and ants. Since both species live in the caves there could be a similarity in the type of diet.

Similar species

While ''M. nimbaensis'' is visually similar to ''M. welwitschii'', it most genetically resembles ''M. tricolor''. ''M. nimbaensis'' was captured while looking for ''H. lamottei''.

Habitat

''M. nimbaensis'' is believed to only inhabit a small geographic range, the Nimbian Mountain range. The range has lowland rainforests with the slopes covered by grass land vegetation. The Guinea, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire boundary is formed as a result of the Cavalla and Nuon rivers that run through the mountain range. Home to thousands of endangered species the Nimbia Mountains support exceptional biodiversity which also includes many other bat species. Temperatures can range from 80 degrees in the day to dropping to around 50 degrees at night. The mountains contain large amounts of iron-ore deposits that caused Liberian Mineral companies to mine in the Guinean section of the range, and that is why the research team was on sight in the mountain range. ''M. nimbaensis'' and ''H. lamottei'' live in the abandoned mining caves and use the tunnels as their passage ways to travel throughout the mines. The team was sent as part of plan to find ways for the species to travel through the mountains if the mines were to eventually collapse. They are on the critically endangered list

References

Mouse-eared bats Bats of Africa Mammals of West Africa Endemic fauna of Guinea Mammals described in 2021 {{Vespertilionidae-stub