Glauconycteris lobeke
Glauconycteris lobeke is a butterfly bat described in 2026 from the forest region around Lobéké National Park in Cameroon. Genetic evidence also identifies it in the Central African Republic and mainland Equatorial Guinea. It belongs to the family Vespertilionidae.[1]
Appearance
The two specimens used for the formal description have brown fur, pale shoulder patches and no pale flank stripe. Their wings are brown without conspicuous net-like markings. The forearms measure 35.8 and 35.9 mm. The skull's upper profile is strongly concave, with an enlarged, rounded braincase.[1]
The species resembles other small butterfly bats. Its recognition depended on a combination of anatomy and DNA; a shoulder patch is not enough to identify it reliably. In the genetic analysis it was closely related to Glauconycteris atra.[1]
Habitat and known distribution
The male type specimen came from Djombi, in the buffer zone of Lobéké National Park. It was captured in heavily disturbed swamp forest at about 570 metres above sea level. A female from Yenga fishing village was caught in a harp trap at about 560 metres. Both Cameroonian sites were disturbed forest.[1]
Tissue samples from bats released in the Central African Republic and mainland Equatorial Guinea supplied additional genetic records. The authors also suggested that four Nigerian bats might belong to the species, but did not confirm that identification. Nigeria is therefore a possible extension of the known range, not a confirmed locality in this account.[1]
Calls and discovery
The researchers recorded echolocation from the female in a flight cage. Her calls changed frequency before reaching a more nearly constant-frequency portion. Because the recordings came from one individual in a cage, they are a limited sample of the species' calling behaviour.[1]
The name refers to Lobéké National Park. The description was published alongside that of Glauconycteris baka, and both species are recognised in the July 2026 Mammal Diversity Database.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 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.
- ↑ Mammal Diversity Database (2026). “Glauconycteris lobeke”. Taxonomy and distribution checked against version 2.5, released 28 July 2026.