The status of Sauromys petrophilus and Chaerephon pumilus (Chiroptera: Molossidae) in the Western Cape Province of South Africa

Abstract

Chaerephon pumilus is widespread in tropical and subtropical Africa, with an outlying southern population near the Cape which is based primarily on records of specimens captured at the Algeria Forestry Station (32°22’S, 19°03’E) in South Africa. Sauromys petrophilus, a flat-headed molossid, has a more restricted distribution, ranging from Mozambique and Zimbabwe south to South Africa and west to Namibia. Principal components analysis was used to compare the morphology of the specimens from Algeria Forestry Station (AFS) with that of S. petrophilus and C. pumilus from  northeastern South Africa. Although similar in size to C. pumilus, the AFS specimens differed in several features, most notably the degree of skull flattening, a feature shared with S. petrophilus. The AFS specimens also lacked the flap of skin joining the ears, a feature of C. pumilus. These differences suggest that the bats from AFS are S. petrophilus rather than C. pumilus. This means that S. petrophilus may not be as rare in the Cape Province as previously thought and that there are now no records of C.  pumilus as far south as the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

Key words: Molossidae, free-tailed bats, taxonomy, range.