Field Museum Researchers Expand List Of Known Bats

A third of the world's species of horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus), an Old World insectivorous group, occur in Africa. The team evaluated geographic variation in the landeri species group, a small but distinctive group of sub-Saharan species. Pooling the samples collected by various research groups enabled the team to acquire representatives from near type localities, essential for establishing a sound foundation for their classification. Analyses included mitochondrial and nuclear genetics, craniodental morphometrics, and echolocation calls. The analyses suggested that two species named early in the 20th century but treated as synonyms ever since, R. axillaris and R. dobsoni, are likely valid species. Very strong evidence suggested that East Africa’s member of the landeri complex was a new, unnamed species that is well documented in our collections. The team named it Rhinolophus webalai after long-time FMNH Research Associate Paul Webala (Maasai Mara University, Kenya) “in recognition of his important contributions as a field biologist, conservation scientist, prolific author, and mentor to Africa’s next generation.” The team suggested “Webala’s horseshoe bat” as a common name for this species.