Scientists are discovering a new ‘amazing’ bat from West Africa

A group of scientists led by the American Museum of Natural History and Conservation International have discovered a new species of orange and black bat in a mountain range in West Africa. The endangered species, which researchers believe are endangered, reinforce the importance of sub-Saharan “sky islands” for bat diversity. The species is described today in the magazine Novitates Museum of America.

“In an extinct age, a discovery like this offers a glimmer of hope,” said Winifred Frick, chief scientist at Bat Conservation International and associate research professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “It’s an amazing animal. It has this bright-orange fur, and because it was so special, that made us feel unexplained before. A new mammal is rarely found. It has been it’s been a dream for me since I was a child. “

In 2018, Frick and her colleagues at Bat Conservation International and Maroua University in Cameroon in the Nimba Mountains of Guinea conducted field studies in natural caves and mining tunnels, called adits, that were built in the 1970s and 1980s and since then settled by bats. In collaboration with the local mining company, Société des Mines de Fer de Guinée (SMFG), the scientists are trying to understand what species of bats they use and at what times of year. . Of particular interest is the Lamotte leaf bat, Hipposideros lamottei, which is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as critically endangered and has never been recorded in the Nimba Mountains.

Many of his known population live in the gates, which are in varying degrees of fall and will disappear in time. While researching for this bat, the researchers discovered something special – a bat that did not look like a round Lamotte bat and did not match the descriptions of any other species that were they know what happened in the area. Later in the evening, they asked American Museum of Natural History Curator Nancy Simmons, a bat expert and chair of the Museum’s Mammalogy Department, for help.

“As soon as I looked at it, I agreed that it was something new,” said Simmons, the paper’s lead author and member of the Bat International Conservation Board. “Then the long journey began. of documents and collects all necessary data to show that it is in fact unlike any other known genre. “

Through morphological, mor¬phometric, echolocation, and genetic data, including comparative data from collections at the Museum, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and the British Museum, the scientists described the new species, named Myotis nimbaensis (“from Nimba”) as an indication of the mountain range in which it is found. The Nimba Mountains are a series of “African sky islands,” with peaks rising between 1,600-1,750 meters (about 1 mile) above sea level and surrounded by varying low-lying habitats. As such, they are home to a wide range of biodiversity, including bats.

“In addition to the Lamotte round bat, it is possible that Myotis nimbaensis may be the second bat species found only in this particular mountain range,” said Jon Flanders, director of endangered species interventions between -national Bat.

This study is part of an ongoing effort that is vital in helping Nimba Mountain bats survive. Bat Conservation International and SMFG have already begun working together to build new tunnels, fortified to last for centuries and in a habitat away from the mining project, for the Lamotte round bat. And while we still don’t know much about the population and range of Myotis nimbaensis, efforts like this are likely to help as well.