Lamotte's roundleaf bat (''Hipposideros lamottei'') 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 ...

found only at Mount Nimba on the border of

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

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

and

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

. It is critically endangered.

Taxonomy

It was described as a new species in 1984 by French zoologist André Brosset. He chose the

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 ...

''lamottei'' after Dr. Maxime Lamotte, who was also a French zoologist. Its status as a species has been called into question, and some suggested that it might be

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

with Noack's roundleaf bat, ''Hipposideros ruber''. While its mitochondrial gene for

cytochrome b Cytochrome b is a protein found in the membranes of aerobic cells. In eukaryotic mitochondria (inner membrane) and in aerobic prokaryotes, cytochrome b is a component of respiratory chain complex III () — also known as the bc1 complex or ubiq ...

may only differ from that of ''H. ruber'' by only 6%, a 2013 study found that it was morphologically distinct from it. Based on its morphology, it is in the ''caffer/ruber''

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

of its genus. Other species in this complex include: * Sundevall's roundleaf bat, ''H. caffer'' * Noack's roundleaf bat, ''H. ruber'' *'' H. tephrus'' Based on genetic analysis, it has been hypothesized that Lamotte's roundleaf bat has only recently become isolated from Noack's roundleaf bat, evolving to become a high-altitude specialist. Lamotte's roundleaf bat and other members of its species complex are members of the ''bicolor'' group of the genus ''Hipposideros''. Other members of the ''bicolor'' group include:

Description

It is a small bat with a

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 ...

. The nose-leaf has four small leaflets, two to either side. Its fur is brown, soft, and dense. Its ears are relatively short. Its

patagia The patagium (: patagia) is a membranous body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift when gliding or flying. The structure is found in extant and extinct groups of flying and gliding animals including bats, theropod dinosaurs (includin ...

are blackish-brown. Its forearm is approximately long, and its hind foot is long. Its tail is long. While many bats in the genus '' Hipposideros'' are similar in appearance, it can be differentiated by several characteristics: a forearm longer than ; large mastoid breadth; and small, gracile

molars The molars or molar teeth are large, flat tooth, teeth at the back of the mouth. They are more developed in mammal, mammals. They are used primarily to comminution, grind food during mastication, chewing. The name ''molar'' derives from Latin, '' ...

. It detects prey using echolocation, calling at maximum frequencies of 119

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

, with a range of 118–120 kHz.

Biology

During the day, it roosts in caves or mine shafts. It is known to share roosts with other species of bat, including Noack's roundleaf bat and the Angolan rousette. Based on its small teeth and relatively slender skull, it is thought that they might prey on soft-bodied insects. The examination of a small colony in December found no juveniles and no pregnant females, meaning that reproduction occurs at another time in the year. Little else is known about their reproduction.

Range and habitat

It has only been recorded on Mount Nimba, which is situated on the border of

and

. This mountain range is notable for its bat diversity; its bat diversity is possibly the greatest of the entire continent of Africa. All captures of this species have been limited to the Guinean side of the mountain, however. It has been recorded in two sites on Mount Nimba: one a lowland

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...

, the other an afromontane savanna. It has been recorded at elevations of above sea level. Four mine

adit An adit (from Latin ''aditus'', entrance) or stulm is a horizontal or nearly horizontal passage to an underground mine. Miners can use adits for access, drainage, ventilation, and extracting minerals at the lowest convenient level. Adits are a ...

s currently in use for roosts are greater than above sea level, however, while there is only one record of this species from a lower altitude. These more recent records suggest that it prefers the afromontane savanna, only occasionally traveling to the lowland rainforests.

Conservation

It is listed as a

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

species 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 ...

, as of 2020. It meets the criteria for this designation because its extent of occurrence is likely less than , its area of occupancy is likely less than , and all individuals live in a single location. Its population is thought to be in decline. It was first evaluated by the IUCN in 1996, when it was listed as

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

; it has been listed as critically endangered since 2004. Threats to this species include mining for iron ore, which can disturb or destroy their roosts. As of 2013, however, there were indications that mining would soon begin at the only sites where this species exists, posing an imminent threat to its existence. Its range is also subject to

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

via

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

. In this region, bats are also used as a food source, so this bat is likely killed for

bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are Hunting, hunted for human consumption. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity in poor and rural communities of humid tropical forest regions of the worl ...

. At least some of its range is encompassed by

Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve () is a protected area and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in both Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire, extending over a total of area of , with in Guinea, and in Côte d'Ivoire. The reserve covers significant portion ...

, which confers some protections, though these protections may not be strictly enforced. Due to its imperiled status, it is identified by the

Alliance for Zero Extinction Formed in 2000 and launched globally in 2005, the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) comprises 100 non-governmental biodiversity conservation organizations working to prevent species extinctions by identifying and safeguarding sites where species ...

as a species in danger of imminent

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

. In 2013, Bat Conservation International listed this species as one of the 35 species of its worldwide priority list of conservation. Lamotte's roundleaf bat was specifically named in an article that argued against collecting

zoological specimen A zoological specimen is an animal or part of an animal preserved for scientific use. Various uses are: to verify the identity of a (species), to allow study, increase public knowledge of zoology. Zoological specimens are extremely diverse. Exampl ...

s from critically endangered bat species, or at least promoted more restrictions on who could collect specimens and how many individuals they could collect.

References

External links

An image of this species
{{Taxonbar, from=Q308983 Bats of Africa Hipposideros Bats as food Mammals described in 1984