NEW BAT SPECIES FOUND IN ESWATINI

Mbabane - A new bat species has been discovered in the country.

This is according to a new study recently published in the scientific journal, the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, authored by Professor Peter John Taylor from the Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State, together with colleagues from the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Eswatini (UNESWA): Professor Ara Monadjem, Mnqobi Lifa Mamba and Siphesihle Magagula and other international collaborators. They have named the species after the Lowveld of Eswatini (ehlandzeni) as Neoromicia hlandzeni or Lowveld serotine bat.  UNESWA Registrar Dr Salebona Simelane said: “This is the first new animal species to be discovered in the country and given a Swati name.”

Abundant

It is widespread and abundant in savanna habitats in eastern Eswatini, but its distribution also extends into South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. One of the collaborators in the study, Professor  Monadjem, said: “This is another exciting discovery of a new mammal species from Africa, especially since it was discovered in our country. “Thanks to advances in molecular biology, we are able to recognise new species that are often difficult to distinguish based on their appearance alone.The molecular aspects of the work were conducted by Professor Desire Dalton, formerly from the South African National Biodiversity Institution in Pretoria, who is also a Research Associate at UNESWA. “This study highlights the importance of continuing with baseline biodiversity surveys in Africa. Africa still remains the least studied continent with respect to bats and other small mammals, and new species will continue to be described over the next decade at least,” said Monadjem.

Important

The professor explained that bats were important for ecosystem services. He said: “Bats provide important ecosystem services, such as pollination, seed dispersal and pest control. Bats are also a highly diverse group that are frequently facing conservation challenges. Almost a quarter of all mammals are bats, currently numbering 1 456 species worldwide, of which 33 have been recorded from Eswatini.” It’s worth-noting that this new species was first collected in Eswatini by Professor Monadjem in September 5, 2005 in Mlawula Nature Reserve, at the Siweni railway siding near the border with Mozambique. Additional specimens have been collected by Monadjem and colleagues since then from numerous other localities in the Lowveld. The holotype (specimen on which the description of the species is based) is housed at the Durban Natural Science Museum, South Africa, however, an important collection of additional specimens are housed at the Eswatini National Museum of Natural History (ENMNH), in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Kwaluseni Campus of UNESWA.     
Monadjem continues working on surveying remote locations across the African continent and has discovered about 20 new species of bats and rodents.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: