Glauconycteris atra
Glauconycteris atra, the blackish butterfly bat, is a bat of the family Vespertilionidae recorded from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was described in 2018 from the Tshopo region.[1]
Appearance and relationships
A 2026 comparative study describes blackish-brown fur and wings, without a pale shoulder patch or flank stripe. It reports forearm lengths of 34.5–37.8 mm. The ears are rounded, and the wing membranes lack conspicuous net-like markings.[2]
That study placed the newly described Glauconycteris lobeke close to G. atra in its genetic analysis. The two share a strongly concave upper skull profile, although the described G. lobeke specimens have pale shoulder patches. Identification in this group uses several anatomical characters and genetic evidence rather than colour alone.[2]
The Mammal Diversity Database gives Yaengo in Tshopo Province as the type locality. The 2026 review listed only three African localities for G. atra; the small number of known sites is a measure of the available records, not a population count.[1][2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mammal Diversity Database (2026). “Glauconycteris atra”. Taxonomy and distribution checked against version 2.5, released 28 July 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Gomeh-Djame, Aicha; Bates, Paul J. J.; Juste, Javier; and colleagues (2026). “An integrated taxonomic and conservation assessment of Glauconycteris (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) in Cameroon, with the description of two new species from the Northwestern Congolian Lowland Forest”. ZooKeys 1282:161–204.