Aellen's roundleaf bat (''Hipposideros marisae'') is a species of bat in the family

Hipposideridae The Hipposideridae are a 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 family.Simmons, 2 ...

. It is found in

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

, Guinea, and

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...

. Its natural habitats are subtropical and tropical forests and caves.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 1954 by Villy Aellen. The

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

for the

species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...

"''marisae''" was Aellen's wife (her name was presumably Marisa). Of the name, Aellen wrote, "Dédiée à ma femme qui m'a accompagné et secondé au cours de ce voyage," which translates to: "Dedicated to my wife who accompanied and assisted me on this trip."

Description

It is a small species of

horseshoe bat Horseshoe bats are bats in the family Rhinolophidae. In addition to the single living genus, ''Rhinolophus'', which has about 106 species, the extinct genus ''Palaeonycteris'' has been recognized. Horseshoe bats are closely related to the Old ...

, with a forearm length of . It has long ears. Its fur is uniformly dark gray, while its ears and wing membranes are dark brown. Its

nose-leaf A nose-leaf, or leaf nose, is an often large, lance-shaped nose, found in bats of the Phyllostomidae, Hipposideridae The Hipposideridae are a family of bats commonly known as the Old World leaf-nosed bats. While it has often been seen as a s ...

is black around the edges, with a light brown

sella Sella may refer to: Places * Sella, Alicante, a municipality in Spain * Sella, Greece, a village in Greece * Sella group, mountains in the Dolomites * Sella River (Bay of Biscay), Asturias, Spain * Sella River (Guam) Other uses * Sella (surname) ...

Range and habitat

It is known from several countries 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, Mau ...

, including

, Guinea, and

Conservation

It is currently evaluated as

vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...

by the IUCN.

References

External links

Images of this species
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1765664 Hipposideros Mammals described in 1954 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Bats of Africa