Smithers's horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus smithersi'') is a species of horseshoe bat found in South Africa and Zimbabwe. It was described as a new species in 2012.

Taxonomy and etymology

Smithers's horseshoe bat was described as a new species in 2012. It was described as a result of a taxonomic split in the Hildebrandt's horseshoe bat (''R. hildebrandtii''). The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

—an adult female—was collected in October 2000 in the Gokwe region of

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. Its

species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

"''smithersi''" was chosen to honor Reay Henry Noble Smithers, former Director of the National Museums of Zimbabwe.

Description

This species can be differentiated from

sympatric In biology, two closely related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter each other. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct spe ...

members of its genus by its high echolocation frequencies, small cranium, and wide

nose-leaf A nose-leaf, or leaf nose, is an often large, lance-shaped nose, found in bats of the Phyllostomidae, Hipposideridae, and Rhinolophidae families. Because these bats Animal echolocation, echolocate nasally, this nose-leaf is thought to serve a role ...

. Its mean echolocation frequency is 40–46 k Hz. The forearm length of the holotype is . Its nose-leaf is wide. The sella has long hairs and narrows at its tip. The lancet is relatively long and straight. The fur of its back is grayish-brown, with individual hairs long. Its ventral surface is paler than its back.

Range and habitat

This species is known from one individual in Zimbabwe and 19 sites in South Africa. During the day, it roosts in natural or man-made underground cavities.

Conservation

It is currently evaluated as

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

. Its population size is thought to be small, perhaps fewer than 1,000 individuals. The population in South Africa occurs in two biosphere reserves, Vhembe Biosphere Reserve and Waterberg Biosphere Reserve.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3934096 Mammals described in 2012 Bats of Africa Rhinolophidae Fauna of South Africa Fauna of Mozambique