We tested the prediction that at coarse spatial scales, variables associated with climate, energy, and productivity hypotheses should be better predictor(s) of bat species richness than those associated with environmental heterogeneity. Distribution ranges of 64 bat species were estimated with niche-based models informed by 3629 verified museum specimens. The influence of environmental correlates on bat richness was assessed using ordinary least squares regression (OLS), simultaneous autoregressive models (SAR), conditional autoregressive models (CAR), spatial eigenvector-based filtering models (SEVM), and Classification and Regression Trees (CART). To test the assumption of stationarity, Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) was used. Bat species richness was highest in the eastern parts of southern Africa, particularly in central Zimbabwe and along the western border of Mozambique. We found support for the predictions of both the habitat heterogeneity and climate/productivity/energy hypotheses, and as we expected, support varied among bat families and model selection. Richness patterns and predictors of Miniopteridae and Pteropodidae clearly differed from those of other bat families. Altitude range was the only independent variable that was significant in all models and it was most often the best predictor of bat richness. Standard coefficients of SAR and CAR models were similar to those of OLS models, while those of SEVM models differed. Although GWR indicated that the assumption of stationarity was violated, the CART analysis corroborated the findings of the curve-fitting models. Our results identify where additional data on current species ranges, and future conservation action and ecological work are needed.

2005, Endangered Wildlife Trust and Avian Demographic Unit 321 pages, species distribution maps, softcover ISBN 0799222844, price R235.00 Ostrich 2007, 78(3): 659–660

Thirty-five museum specimens collected in 1926 and 1947–48 vouch for the distinctiveness of an undescribed large mammal, a form of lechwe antelope. Their preservation has allowed comparative analyses of morphological characters to reveal this new species, the Upemba lechwe Kobus anselli sp. nov. It is most similar to the black lechwe K. smithemani and quite distinct from all other known taxa, including topotypical red lechwes K. leche . Prevailing threats and conservation concerns underwrite its formal description after neglect by science for decades. This lechwe is restricted to the Upemba wetlands, Kamalondo depression, south-east Congo basin (Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo), and has declined greatly since the 1970s. Commercial poaching through the 1980s reduced c . 20000 individuals to under 1000 estimated today. Recognition of K. anselli as a distinct evolutionary entity was previously ignored, because the entrenched taxonomy assumed it was just another red lechwe. Its speciation seems to be recent, probably Pleistocene. Lechwes evolved in an archipelago of wetlands formed through vicariance of a more extensive drainage system, the Palaeo-Chambeshi, which extended from Katanga and north-east Zambia across the south-central African plateau, into the Kalahari basin. The Palaeo-Chambeshi was a major endoreic tributary of Palaeo-Lake Makgadikgadi. Its fragmentation isolated lechwes in the Kamalondo depression from wetlands in the Upper Zambezi–Okavango, Upper Kafue, and the Chambeshi and Luapula drainages. The belated discovery of K. anselli emphasizes the region's conservation significance. Because of its high species richness and high endemism, Katanga is a biodiversity hotspot within the encompassing Katanga–Chambeshi region, also covering eastern Angola and much of Zambia. A secure future for the critically endangered Upemba lechwe hinges on reducing adverse human impact and maintaining the integrity of its wetland habitat. Support for protected areas is critical. Maintenance of ecological processes, focused on aquatic systems, is especially important to conserve biodiversity. Recognition of the complex evolutionary history of the region (since the Late Neogene) underpins the scientific foundation for all conservation plans and activities. It prescribes why a regional conservation strategy should encompass the landscape mosaic, structured across neighbouring drainage systems (Lufira, Upper Lualaba and Chambeshi–Luapula rivers). A trans-frontier conservation area will consolidate the protected areas and land use systems of the region in an ecological context.

A new species of horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus sakejiensis, is described from south-central Africa, near the source of the Zambezi River in north-west Zambia. A distinct combination of noseleaf, cranial and baculum characters are diagnostic of the species. It is a member of the ferrumequinum group, and its evolutionary affinities lie closest to R. clivosus Cretzschmar, 1828 and particularly the West African R. hillorum Koopman, 1989. This discovery of a new species of Rhinolophus in the clivosus complex required reappraisal of these and other related taxa. Known only from high forest in West Africa, hillorum is the closest relative of sakejiensis collected in mesic savanna in south-central Africa. Comparisons of this new species with other large Afrotropical Rhinolophus shows that hillorum is specifically distinct from clivosus, and endorses the specific status of deckeni and silvestris. The contemporary taxonomy of Afrotropical Rhinolophus was incapable of accommodating this new taxon, and the latter part of this paper argues for a more objective characterization of rhinolophids as evolutionary species.

TAXONVolume 48, Issue 1 p. 35-39 Point of View Toward exorcism of the ghost of W. T. Thistleton-Dyer: a comment on “over-duplication” and the scientific properties, uses and values of natural science specimens F. P. D. Cotterill, F. P. D. Cotterill Secretariat [email protected] Biodiversity Foundation for Africa, PO Box FM730, Famona, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, PO Box 240, Bulawayo, ZimbabweSearch for more papers by this author F. P. D. Cotterill, F. P. D. Cotterill Secretariat [email protected] Biodiversity Foundation for Africa, PO Box FM730, Famona, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, PO Box 240, Bulawayo, ZimbabweSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 February 1999 https://doi.org/10.2307/1224618Citations: 6AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume48, Issue1February 1999Pages 35-39 RelatedInformation

The annual cycle and reproductive ecology of a large population of Commerson's leaf-nosed bats, Hipposideros commersoni, was studied in central Zimbabwe. The influence of the extremely large body size of this microchiropteran, interrelating with a seasonal, tropical environment, was the central theme of this study. Adaptive responses to seasonal environmental changes differed between reproducing adults of the sexes. Reproductive females dispersed twice during the annual cycle, while in contrast adult males reduced activity during the cool, dry season. A polygynous mating system was characterised by breeding males defending demarcated territories within the daylight roost. Synchronized parturitions within maternity roosts (in late October) created a hot, humid microclimate which facilitated rapid post-natal development of neonates. The large body size of H. commersoni is suggested to have evolved in response to different selective agents, including: availability of large, hard shelled arthropods as prey; energetic constraints; and availability of fat reserves to 'ride out' inclement periods when food is limiting. Sexual selection may be the ultimate cause of a large body size. The conservation of H. commersoni is discussed given the history and pressures for guano exploitation of their breeding caves and the keystone role of these large bats in transferring nutrients and energy into the cavernicolous ecosystems where they roost and breed.

Female reproduction was studied in sympatric populations of two species of African horseshoe bats in a seasonal tropical environment of central Zimbabwe. Both Rhinolophus simulator and its largest African congener, R. hildebrantii, were monotocous and monestrous, and reproduction was highly seasonal. In 3 consecutive years, R. simulator gave birth consistently later (15-20 days) than R. hildebrantii, and early embryonic development was retarded in the smaller R. simulator. Copulations occurred during June and July of the cool-dry season, and both species gave birth to single offspring during separate synchronized periods of parturition at the start of the wet season. Lactation in both species coincided with the period of maximal rainfall, but the weaning period of R. hildebrantii was distinctly long.

The social Matabeleland mole‐rat Cryptomys hottentotus nimrodi occurs in both the high‐and lowveld of Zimbabwe. The population in the highveld has a mean (± S. D.) resting metabolic rate (RMR) when acclimated for three months in the laboratory of 0.83 ± 0.04cm 3 O 2 g ‐l h ‐l (n=12) within the thermoneutral zone (TNZ) of 31‐32°. The body temperature (T b ) within the thermoneutral zone is low 34.4 ± 0.18 ( n = 12) and remains stable at ambient temperatures (T a s) from 25‐32°. Above 32°, T b increases albeit slightly to 36.6 ± 1.46° ( n = 12). The conductance is high 0.17 0.02cm 3 O 2 g ‐1 h ‐ ° ‐1 ( n = 24) at the lower limit of thermoneutrality. The mean RMR at 18° (the lowest T a tested) was 2.29 ± 0.11 cm 3 O 2 g ‐1 h ‐1 , which is 2.75 times that of the RMR in the TNZ. The population in the lowveld has a mean (± S.D.) resting metabolic rate (RMR) when acclimated for three months in the laboratory of 0.95 ± 0.07 cm 3 O 2 g ‐1 h ‐1 ( n = 12) within the themoneutral zone (TNZ) of 28‐30 °. The body temperature within the thermoneutral zone is low 34.0 ± 0.23 ( n = 12) and remains stable at T a s from 25‐30 °. Above 32 °, T b increases, albeit slightly, to 37.8 ± 1.14 ° ( n = 12). The conductance is high 0.14 ± 0.09cm 3 O 2 g ‐1 h ‐1 ° ‐1 ( n = 24) at the lower limit of thermoneutrality. The mean RMR at 18 ° (the lowest T a tested) was 1.96 ± 0.12cm 3 O 2 g ‐1 h ‐1 , which is 2.0 times that of the RMR in the TNZ. These thermoregulatory parameters are compared with published data on other species of Cryptomys from Southern and Central Africa.

Mating in Schrcibers’long‐fingered bat (Miniopterus schreibersii) from central Zimbabwe (18°S) occurred between mid‐April and mid‐May, after a five‐month period of spermatogenesis. Implantation was delayed until early July and parturition occurred between late October and mid‐November, about four months after implantation and six to seven months after fertilization. The timing and length of gestation at 18°S are similar to that described for M. schreibersii from Zaire (11σS) and when these date are compared with those for the same species from higher latitudes in Africa, it is apparent that there is a small, but distinct, increase in the total length of pregnancy and the length of delayed implantation with increasing latitude. The reproductive bilogy of Miniopterus schreibersii from Africa and France differs fundamentally from that of the same species from Australia and Japan, and it is suggested that studies of the relationship between latitude and duration of delayed implantation should be based on comparisons within single species from different latitudes on the same continent, and that comparisons between species and between continents should be avoided.

Cryptomys darlingi occurs in the mesic Miombo woodland of north‐eastem Zimbabwe. It occurs in colonies of up to nine individuals, in which reproduction is limited to one of the largest males and the largest female in the colony.Reproduction and details of colony size and number of breeding animals in a colony are described for five complete field‐captured colonies.In captivity, mating is not confined to a particular season, and up to three litters of pups are orn per annum. The reproductive female initiates the pre‐copulatory behaviour. The gestation lengti is 56–61 days (n = 2). The new‐born pups are altricial and litter size is small x̄ = 1.7 ± 0.5 (n = 6). In this case, the pups first left the nest 10 days after birth, began to eat solids when 14 days old, and were fully weaned at five weeks. They began to spar with each other when 36–40 days old, but did not disperse and were incorporated into the colony. This suggests that the Mashona mole‐rat colonies are composed of a founding pair and at least three successive litters of pups.

When acclaimated for two months at 26 C the social Mashona mole‐rat Cryptomys hottentotus darlingi (±S.D.) resting metabolic rate (RMR) of 0·98±0.·14cm2O2g ‐1 h‐1 (n=21), within a thermal neutral zone (TNZ) of 28 31·5 C ambient temperature (Ta). The body temperature (Tb) of the mole‐rat is very low. 33·3±0·5 C, and remained stable between 25 31·5 C (n=28). Above 33 C. Tb increased to a mean of 34·±0· C (n=28) (Ta range 33 39 C). Below Ta 25 C. Tb showed strong poikilothermic tendencies, with Tb dropping to a mean of 26·8±1·16 C. whereas above Ta25 C. Tb varied in a typically endothermic pattern. The conductance is high 0·19±0·03 cm2 O2g1 C 1 (n=28) at the lower limit of thermoneutrality. The mean RMR at 18 C (the lowest Ta tested) was 2·63 ± 0·55 cm3 O2g 1 h 1 (n=7) which is 2·6 times that of the resting metabolic rate in the TNZ.

Journal of ZoologyVolume 231, Issue 4 p. 645-651 Capturing free-tailed bats (Chiroptera: Molossidae): the description of a new trapping device F. P. D. Cotterill, Corresponding Author F. P. D. Cotterill Department of Mammals, Natural History Museum, P.O. Box 240, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe*To whom correspondence should be addressedSearch for more papers by this authorR. A. Fergusson, R. A. Fergusson Department of Zoology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South AfricaSearch for more papers by this author F. P. D. Cotterill, Corresponding Author F. P. D. Cotterill Department of Mammals, Natural History Museum, P.O. Box 240, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe*To whom correspondence should be addressedSearch for more papers by this authorR. A. Fergusson, R. A. Fergusson Department of Zoology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South AfricaSearch for more papers by this author First published: December 1993 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1993.tb01945.xCitations: 1AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume231, Issue4December 1993Pages 645-651 RelatedInformation

The activity patterns of the lesser yellow house bat, Scotophilus viridis, were observed during December 1984. Whilst the activity patterns of the species as a whole were in agreement with published data, significant differences between the activity patterns of males and females were found. The majority of females were active between 19h00 and 21h00, whilst the activity of males peaked between 21h00 and 22h00.