(Syndesmotis) Mega[Otis (Heuglin) in Saudi Arabia in March 1989, a Bat
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NOTES Record of Hipposideros (Syndesmotis) mega[otis (Heuglin) in Saudi Arabia by P. GAUCHER and A. BROSSET2 J National Wildlife Research Center (No WoRoC.), P.Oo Box 1086, Taij; Saudi Arabia 2 Museum national d'Histoire nature/le, 4, avenue du Petit-Choteau, 91800 Brunoy, France In March 1989, a bat identified as Hipposideros megalotis was collected in leddah (21°29'N-39°10'E) (Saudi Arabia) by x. Eichaker. The specimen had collided with a car; it is the only one of this species recorded in Saudi Arabia during general survey work on bats, which was carried out from 1987 to 1990. Hipposideros megalotis is a rare species only known from North East Africa, Somalia (Senna 1905), Djibouti (Legendre 1982), Ethiopia and Kenya (Kingdom 1974) ; the recent record seems to be the first for Saudi-Arabia and the Asian continent. The specimen is an adult male. Its characteristics and measurements are as follows : Small, lightly build Hipposideridea, with large rounded ears united at the base by a low frontal band; simple nose leaf; colour of the fur characteristic of the dry countries Rhinolophid-species : pale grey above, whitish below, mem- branes depigmented. The excellent drawing from Kingdom (1974), and the precise description of the species from Hill (1963) match perfectly our specimen. Measurements. -Head and body: 35.2 mm ; ears: 18.2 mm ; fore arm : 35.0 mm ; skull, total lenghth : 14.2 mm ; zygomatic width: 7.0 mm ; C-M3 : 4.9 mm ; M3-M3 : 5.2 mm ; mandible: 8.8 mm ; in. tooth row: 5.3 mm. The dentition presents the characteristics of the subgenus Syndesmotis (Legen- dre, 1982) : Upper canines with a well defined secondary cusp on the distal edge, P2 absent, MJ reduced, coronoid process low and shorter than the length of MI-M2 ; angular process long and deflected outward. The mandible of our specimen matches the drawing of the mandible of a specimen from Djibouti (Legendre 1982). Mamma/ia, t. 54, n° 4, 1990. 'P~~I.,--,qCi' 654 MAMMALIA According to the discovery of fossils, the sub-genus Syndesmotis ( = Hipposideros, according to Hill 1963) was present in Southern France (Sete) and in Morocco during the early and middle Miocene (Legendre 1982). Today, the sub-genus is represented by only one species, megalotis, restricted to Eastern Africa and the nearby arid regions of South West Asia. This bat seem to be rare everywhere, considering the small numer of collected individuals. Bibliography. HILL, J .E. , 1963. -A revision of the genus Hipposideros. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology, II (I) : 1-129. KINGDOM, J., 1974. -East African Mammals -an Atlas of Evolution in Africa, vol. 2, part A (Insectivores and Bats). Acad. Press, London, New York. 341 pp. LEGENDRE, S., 1982. -Hipposideridea (Mammalia, Chiroptera) from the Mediterranean middle and late Neogene, and evolution of the Genera Hipposideros and Asellia. J. Vertebr. Paleontology, 2 (3) : 372-385. SENNA, A., 1905. -Contributo alia conoscenza dei Chirotteri Eritrei. Arch. Zool. Ital. Napoli (Torino), 2 : 249-308. 4 pis. First record of Asellia patrizii De Beaux, 1931 (Chiroptera : Hipposideridae) in Saudi Arabia .A. NADER 2 and P. GAUCHER 3 by P. MOESCHLER I, J Museum d'histoire naturelle, Case postale 434, CH-1211 Geneve 6, Switzerland 2 National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development, P.O. Box 61681, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 3 National Wildlife Research Center, National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development, P.O. Box 1086, TaU; Saudi Arabia Two small Trident leaf-nosed bats of the genus Ase//ia were obtained on Farasan Island, southern Red Sea (16°41'N, 42°07'E) and on Segid (As-Saqid) Island (16°55'N, 41°55'E), Saudi Arabia, during two field trips in 1989. The first specimen, an adult female preserved in alcohol has been deposited in the mamalian collection of the Museum of Natural History, Geneva (MHNG 1719.70), the other bat, an adult male is housed in the collection of the Saudi National Museum of Natural History (SNMNH 40). An examination of these specimens and comparative material in the For- schungsinstitut Senckenberg, Frankfurt (SMF 44996-99, 52372) 2 0' 0', 3 9 9 from West of Metahara, Shoa Province, Ethiopia, left no doubt that they belong Mammalia. I. 54, n° 4, 1990. NOTES 655 to Asettia patrizii De Beaux, 1931. This species is known only from Ethiopia (Largen et at. , 1974) and is comparatively rare in collections. Apart from the type locality, Gaarre (Gaharre *), this bat is mentioned from four other stations in Eritrea, i.e. Assab (Aseb), Entedebir Island (Andeber Deset), Nocra Island (Nokra Deset) and Wongabo region (ca 15°00'N, 39°52'E ; De Beaux, 1931 ; Harrison, 1965 ; Largen et at., 1974), as well as some localities in Central Ethio- pia: North bank of Awash River in the Awash National Park, Shewa (Hill & Morris, 1971), Metahara, W of Metahara, Filwoha (Largen et at., 1974). The specimens from the Farasan archipelago represent the first records of Asettia patrizii outside Ethiopia. Future collecting in the Tihama area in southwestern Saudi Arabia, most likely will yield additional specimens of this species. Measurements (in mm) : MHNG 1719.70/SNMNH 40: length of forearm 37.5/39.4; greatest length of skull 14.8/15.8; condylobasallength 12.9/14.2 ; condylocanine length 12.8/14.0 ; zygomatic width 8.0/8.2 ; least interorbital width 1.8/1.8 ; width of braincase 5.9/6.3 ; mastoid width 7.0/7.3 ; CI-CI 4.0/4.2 ; mJ-mJ 5.5/5.7; c-mJ 5.3/5.3; c-m3 5.8/5.8. Remarks: On the evening of 20th Maya number of bats were observed around the headquarter of the Coast Guard House on Farasan Kebir. Apparently, two species were involved, among them several bats clearly referable to A. patrizii. The first specimen (MHNG 1719.70) was caught at night inside this building. The second specimen (SNMNH 40) was collected under similar circumstances immediately after sunset on the 13th December . Harrison (1965 : 4) stated that specimens from Entedebir Island are slightly smaller than those known from the mainland, and speculated about a subspecific distinction of this population. This hypothesis has been rejected by Hill and Morris (1971 : 41) on the basis of similar small size in a specimen from the Awash National Park. This latter point of view is supported by the bat from Segid Island which is of comparatively large size. Acknowledgments. -The authors are much indebted to Dr. B. Schatti (Geneva) for assistance during collecting and preparation of the manuscript, and for Dr. D. Kock (SMF, Frankfurt) for allowing one of us (IAN) to examine the comparative material under his care. Bibliography. DE BEAUX, 0., 1931. -Spedizione del barone Raimondo Franchetti in Dancalia. Mam- miferi. Anna/i Mus. civ. Stor. nat. Genova, 55 : 183-217. HARRISON, D.L., 1965. -Remarks on some Trident Leaf-nosed bats (genus Asellia Gray, 1838) obtained by the Israel south Red Sea Expedition, 1962, Rep. No.5. Bull. Sea Fish. Res. Stat. Haifa, 38 : 23-25. HILL, J.E., and P. MORRIS, 1971. -Bats from Ethiopia collected by the Great Abbai Expedition 1968. Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist. (Zool.), 21 (2) : 27-49. LARGEN, M.J., D. KOCK and D.W. YALDEN, 1974. -Catalogue of the Mammals of Ethiopia. I. Chiroptera. Monitore zool. ital. (N.S.), Suppl. V: 221-298. * For reference to names in parenthesis see " Gazetteer of Ethiopia ", Defense Mapping Agency, Washington, D.C. (1982)..