Rosevear's serotine (''Pseudoromicia roseveari'') 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 famili ...

that lives in Guinea and Liberia. It was described as a new species in 2013. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described in 2013. Its closest relative is the dark-brown serotine, ''Pseudoromicia brunnea''. Rosevear's serotine and the dark-brown serotine are separated by a

genetic distance Genetic distance is a measure of the genetic divergence between species or between populations within a species, whether the distance measures time from common ancestor or degree of differentiation. Populations with many similar alleles have s ...

of 6.9–7.2%. The new species was assigned to the genus ''

Neoromicia ''Neoromicia'' is a genus of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It contains the following species: * Anchieta's serotine (''Neoromicia anchietae'') * Kirindy serotine (''Neoromicia bemainty'') * Yellow serotine (''Neoromicia flavescen ...

'' based on its single upper premolar: a trait shared amongst all species in the genus. The authors who described the species chose the specific epithet "''roseveari''" to honor Donovan Reginald Rosevear, "who made a significant contribution to West African bat research in the 20th century, culminating in his book ''The Bats of West Africa''". Although initially described in the genus ''Neoromicia'', a 2020 study found it to belong to a separate genus, described as ''

Pseudoromicia ''Pseudoromicia'' is a genus of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. All species in this genus are native to sub-Saharan Africa. It contains the following species: * Dark-brown serotine, ''Pseudoromicia brunnea'' * Isabelline serotine, ' ...

''.

Description

It is a small bat, with a total body length of . Its tail is ; its forearm is long; its hindfoot is long; its ear length is . It has a body mass of . Its maximum skull length is . Despite this small size, it is the largest "pipistrelloid" (bats in the genera '' Afronycteris'', ''

'', ''

Laephotis ''Laephotis'' (known as the African long-eared bat) is a genus of bats in the family Vespertilionidae. Species within this genus are: * Angolan long-eared bat (''Laephotis angolensis'') * Botswanan long-eared bat (''Laephotis botswanae'') * Cape ...

'', ''

Hypsugo The genus ''Hypsugo'' contains many bats referred to as pipistrelles or pipistrelle bats (not to be confused with the genus ''Pipistrellus''). They belong to the family Vespertilionidae or vesper bats. They are primarily found throughout Asia, t ...

'', ''

'', and ''

Pipistrellus ''Pipistrellus'' is a genus of bats in the family Vespertilionidae and subfamily Vespertilioninae. The name of the genus is derived from the Italian word , meaning "bat" (from Latin "bird of evening, bat"). The size of the genus has been cons ...

'') in

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, M ...

. In some aspects, Eisentraut's serotine overlaps with Rosevear's serotine in size, though they can be differentiated by their

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

. Its fur is dark chocolate brown in color. The fur on its ventral surface is bicolored, with the bases of individual hairs darker than their tips. The fur on its dorsal surface is a constant color throughout, in contrast to the bicolored ventral fur. Its ear is relatively short, and rounded at the tip. The outer edge of the tragus is curved; the base of the tragus has a "distinct lobe." Relative to other species in its genus, it has a robust skull and a broad snout. Its

dental formula Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolog ...

, typical for ''Pseudoromicia'' species, is , for a total of 32 teeth.

Biology

As only six individuals have ever been encountered, very little is known about the biology of this species. A female captured in Guinea in early March 2008 was pregnant, however, with a fetus from crown to rump.

Range and habitat

Only six specimens have ever been documented. Four specimens were recorded on the Liberian border of

Mount Nimba Mount Richard-Molard, also known as Mount Nimba, is a mountain along the border of Ivory Coast and Guinea in West Africa. The highest peak for both countries and the Nimba Range is at . The mountain is a part of the Guinea Highlands, which stra ...

and the other two specimens were in the Simandou Range of Guinea. All captured individuals were netted over small streams in primary rainforest. Two of the Mount Nimba individuals were encountered at above sea level.

Conservation

It is currently evaluated as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

by the IUCN. Major threats to this species include

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 ...

via

slash-and-burn 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 veget ...

agriculture, logging, and mining.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q8096223

External links

A photograph of the holotype of this species
Pseudoromicia Bats of Africa