Marovaza house bat

Marovaza house bat
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Chiroptera
Family:Vespertilionidae
Genus:Scotophilus
Species: S. marovaza
Binomial name
Scotophilus marovaza
Goodman, Ratrimomanarivo & Randrianandrianina, 2006
Range of the Marovaza house bat

The Marovaza house bat (Scotophilus marovaza) is a species of bat found in Madagascar.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 2006.[2] The holotype was collected in Marovaza, Madagascar, which inspired its species name.[1]

Description

It is relatively small for its genus.[2] Its forearm is approximately 43.5 mm (1.71 in) long.[3]

Biology and ecology

It has been found roosting in the palm-leave thatching of small huts. It roosts singly or in small colonies of up to five individuals.[1] It navigates and locates prey via echolocation; its calls have a frequency of maximum energy of 43.848 kHz and a maximum frequency of 5872.6 kHz. Echolocation pulses last 68 seconds.[3] Individuals can be infected with Leptospira.[4]

Range and habitat

The Marovaza house bat is endemic to western Madagascar. It is currently known from lowland areas of 5–200 m (16–656 ft) above sea level.[1]

Conservation

As of 2017, it is evaluated as a least-concern species by the IUCN. It met the criteria for this classification because of its relatively large geographic range and its ability to tolerate some habitat destruction.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Monadjem, A.; Cardiff, S.G.; Rakotoarivelo, A.R.; Jenkins, R.K.B.; Ratrimomanarivo, F.H. (2017). "Scotophilus marovaza". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T136774A22034361. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T136774A22034361.en.
  2. 1 2 Goodman, Steven M; Ratrimomanarivo, Fanja H; Randrianandrianina, Félicien H (2006). "A new species of Scotophilus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from western Madagascar". Acta Chiropterologica. 8: 21–37. doi:10.3161/1733-5329(2006)8[21:ANSOSC]2.0.CO;2.
  3. 1 2 Kofoky, Amyot F; Randrianandrianina, Felicien; Russ, Jon; Raharinantenaina, Irma; Cardiff, Scott G; Jenkins, Richard K. B; Racey, Paul A (2009). "Forest Bats of Madagascar: Results of Acoustic Surveys". Acta Chiropterologica. 11 (2): 375–392. doi:10.3161/150811009X485602.
  4. Gomard, Yann; Dietrich, Muriel; Wieseke, Nicolas; Ramasindrazana, Beza; Lagadec, Erwan; Goodman, Steven M; Dellagi, Koussay; Tortosa, Pablo (2016). "Malagasy bats shelter a considerable genetic diversity of pathogenic Leptospirasuggesting notable host-specificity patterns". Fems Microbiology Ecology. 92 (4): fiw037. doi:10.1093/femsec/fiw037. PMID 26902801.
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