The São Tomé leaf-nosed bat (''Macronycteris thomensis'') is a species of

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). 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 birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

in the family

Hipposideridae The Hipposideridae are a family (biology), 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 Rhinolophidae, it is now more generally classified as its own fa ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the island of

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álv ...

, in the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

off the western coast of Africa. The bat's natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and caves.

Taxonomy

This bat was first described in 1891 by the Portuguese zoologist

José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage (2 May 1823 – 3 November 1907) was a Portuguese zoologist, politician, and professor. He served as a professor of zoology and director of the National Museum of Natural History and Science, Lisbon, National Museu ...

as ''Hipposideros thomensis'', the specific name recording the fact that it is

to São Tomé. It was at one time considered to be part of '' M. commersoni'', but that species is now viewed as being restricted to

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. Both ''commersoni'' and it were 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 (biology), family of bats commonly known as the Old World leaf-nosed bats. While it has often been seen as a subfamily, Hipposiderinae, ...

'' in 2017 on the basis of molecular evidence.

Ecology

São Tomé leaf-nosed bat inhabits primary and secondary moist lowland tropical forest. It is also seen in plantations and other man-made habitats. Roosts have been observed in caves, lava tubes, rock crevices and water extraction tubes. Breeding takes place once a year in the rainy season. The female gives birth to a single pup after a gestation period of about four months. The young may be carried when the mother is foraging, and are weaned at about fourteen weeks. The diet is of large insects such as

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

s and

cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

Status

The São Tomé leaf-nosed bat is known only from the island of São Tomé in the

. It is described as not uncommon, and roosts of up to one hundred individuals have been found. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, and because no special threats have been identified, the

International Union for Conservation of Nature 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 stat ...

has assessed the conservation status of this species as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hipposideros Thomensis Hipposideros Endemic mammals of São Tomé and Príncipe Fauna of São Tomé Island São Tomé leaf-nosed bat São Tomé leaf-nosed bat Taxonomy articles created by Polbot