Sandy long-fingered bat

Sandy long-fingered bat
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Miniopteridae
Genus:	Miniopterus
Species:	M. arenarius
Binomial name
Miniopterus arenarius Heller 1912

The sandy long-fingered bat (Miniopterus arenarius), also known as the sandy bent-winged bat, is a species of bat from the genus Miniopterus that is endemic to the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa. The species was initially described as a subspecies of either M. schreibersii or M. natalensis. Recent genetic research has revealed that specimens from the Arabian Peninsula and Ethiopia, which were tentatively ascribed to the genus, are significantly distinct from M. schreibersii and M. natalensis. A genetic analysis of type locality material is still needed before taxonomy can be resolved.

It is a small brownish or dark species of the Miniopterus genus. The head is a darker clove-brown color than the seal-brown dorsal pelage. The forearm measures approximately 42–46 mm (1.7–1.8 in) in the South Sudan population and 45 mm (1.8 in) in the Ethiopia population.

Taxonomy

Miniopterus, a widespread genus of bats in Africa, southern Eurasia, and Australia, was first recorded from Madagascar by George Edward Dobson, who mentioned the larger Miniopterus schreibersii and the smaller M. scotinus (currently M. natalensis) in his 1878 catalog of the bats in the British Museum.

Description

The species is very small and has a head-to-body length of 55 mm (2.2 in) on average, with a 47 mm (1.9 in) long tail. The hind feet is 9 mm (0.35 in) long, and the ears 11 mm (0.43 in). It's similar in size to M. natalensis, but has a larger braincase and lighter, shorter pelage.

Distribution and ecology

The current range of M. arenarius spans across the southwest Arabian Peninsula, and in East Africa in countries like Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan. In Kenya, it lives in brushlands and thickets, and also forest-savanna mosaics up to 1,400 m (4,600 ft) in elevation. It also inhabits Acacia and Burseraceae trees. The original specimen of the Sandy Long-fingered Bat was discovered in a sizable gap between granite boulders on top of a modest hill; a second specimen was discovered in the same area at dusk amid some acacia trees. It was discovered in Ethiopia at a height of around 1,300 m (4,300 ft) in a cave on the steep, rocky side of a river valley that was covered with dense mixed Acacia and broadleaved scrubs, with a thin strip of lusher flora on the riverbanks. Most species of Miniopterus are insectivores and mainly eat insects.