Livingstone's yellow bat

Livingstone's yellow bat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Vespertilionidae
Genus: Scotophilus
Species:
S. livingstonii
Binomial name
Scotophilus livingstonii
Brooks & Bickham, 2014

Livingstone's yellow bat or Livingstone's house bat (Scotophilus livingstonii) is a species of bat found in Africa.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 2014. The holotype was collected in 1985 in Kenya. It is a sister taxon to the African yellow bat (S. dinganii) and Scotophilus trujilloi. The eponym for the species name "livingstonii" is Scottish explorer David Livingstone.[2]

Description

It is a small species of bat, with a head and body length of 85.4 mm (3.36 in) and a tail length of 48.4 mm (1.91 in). The forearm is approximately 51.7–55.6 mm (2.04–2.19 in) long. Its fur is reddish-mahogany in color.[2]

Range and status

It has been documented in Ghana and Kenya. As Ghana and Kenya are on opposite sides of the continent, it is likely that its range includes some of the countries between.[1]

As of 2017 it is evaluated as a least-concern species by the IUCN. It is threatened by intentional destruction of its roosts by humans.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Monadjem, A. (2017). "Scotophilus livingstonii". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T84466826A84466829. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T84466826A84466829.en.
  2. ^ a b Brooks, D. M.; Bickham, J. W. (2014). "New species of Scotophilus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Sub-Saharan Africa" (PDF). Museum of Texas Tech University (326). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2018-05-28.