First record of a piebald Bates’s Slit-faced Bat, Nycteris arge (Chiroptera: Nycteridae) from Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-7-2020

Department

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

Abstract

Chromatic disorders may disrupt adaptive coloration and reduce animals’ capacity to survive and produce young. These disorders have been documented widely for bats across the globe. However, most of these cases are concentrated in regions with well-studied faunal communities, such as Europe or North and South America, with little documentation of chromatic disorders in regions such as Central Africa. We captured a bat in mainland Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa, with distinct white patches on its body and normally pigmented eyes. Here, we report the first recorded case of piebaldism documented in Central Africa for the Nycteridae family, and the first case worldwide for Nycteris arge Thomas, 1903.

Publication Title

Journal of Bat Research & Conservation

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