Rhinolophus horaceki Benda & Vallo 2012

34. Horacek’s Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus horaceki French: Rhinolophe de Horacek / German: Horacek-Hufeisennase / Spanish: Herradura de Horacek Taxonomy. Rhinolophus horaceki Benda & Vallo, 2012, “ Wadi Damah, 32° 42’ 06” N, 22° 36’ 40” E, ca. 6 km S of Damah, Darnah Disc, Cyrenaica, Libya.” Rhinolophus horaceki is in the ferrumequinum species group, but genetic data based solely on mitochondrial cytochrome-b have shown it to be sister to a clade including the ferrumequinum and fumigatus groups. Additional research is needed to fully resolve phylogenetic position of R horaceki. Populations now attributed to it were previously listed as A clivosus. Monotypic. Distribution. N Cyrenaica, NE Libya. Descriptive notes. Head-body 60 mm, tail 34 mm, ear 20-8-22- 7 mm, forearm 48- 50 mm. Horacek’s Horseshoe Bat is somewhat similar to the medium-sized forms of Geoffroy’s Horseshoe Bat (A clivosus). Dorsal pelage is brown to brownish gray; venter is grayish beige. There is no orange morph. Males lack axillary tufts. Ears are dark brown or dark grayish brown, being darker distally. Noseleaf has hairy, triangular lancet; connecting process is high and rounded and covered in hair; sella is pointed at tip and has concave sides; and horseshoe is narrow at 6-9-7- 6 mm wide, with welldefined median emargination. Lower lip has one medial groove. Wings and uropatagium are dark brown or grayish brown. Baculum is relatively large (3-7- 3-9 mm) and dorso-ventrally flattened on its distal two-thirds, creating lancet shape, and its proximal epiphysis is massive and laterally bifurcated. Skull is relatively wide; rostral region is huge, relatively long, and wide, but nasal swellings are comparatively undeveloped; sagittal crest is moderately developed; and infraorbital foramen is large, and infraorbital bar is long and thin. Teeth are relatively massive; upper molars are relatively wide; P 4 is relatively wide and mesiodistally short, with relatively very shallow concavity in distal margin of talon; P2 is minute and usually present but can be absent (rarely); and P3 is tiny and displaced labially or absent (usually absent), allowing P2 and P4 to touch. Dental formula is usually I 1/2, C 1/1, P 2/2, M 3/3 (x2) = 30 because a lower premolar is frequently absent, and very rarely it is I 1/2, C 1/1, P 1/2, M 3/3 (x 2) = 28; 11/2, C 1/1, P 2/3, M 3/3 (x2) = 32; or 11/2, C 1/1, P 1/3, M 3/3 (x 2) = 30. Habitat. Mainly Mediterranean deciduous woodlands and steppes from sea level to elevations of c. 660 m. Food and Feeding. Stomach samples of Horacek’s Horseshoe Bats revealed that they primarily eat medium-sized moths. Twenty-six fecal samples contained medium-sized moths (99-8% by volume) and a small amount of nematocerans (Diptera) (0-2%). Another set of 18 fecal samples included a much broader variety of prey, including medium-sized Lepidoptera (54%), Blattodea (38%), Formicoidea (4%), Auchenorrhyncha (2%), and Coleoptera (2%). Horacek’s Horseshoe Bats probably forage similar to Geoffroy’s Horseshoe Bats and Greater Horseshoe Bats (A ferrumequinum). Breeding. Pregnant Horacek’s Horseshoe Bats were collected in May, suggesting that births occur in late May or earlyJune. Subadults were captured in August. Activity patterns. Horacek’s Horseshoe Bats roost in natural caves; they also have been found in an underground part of castle ruins and an abandoned cellar. Movements, Home range and Social organization. Horacek’s Horseshoe Bats have been found alone or in small groups in roosts, although they can form larger colonies. They probably create maternity colonies during breeding season. Status and Conservation. Not assessed on IUCNed List. Horacek’s Horseshoe Bat is endemic to a region of North Africa that is characterized as an “oasis” within the Mediterranean region. This unique habitat does not seem to have many major threats, but Horacek’s Horseshoe Bat has a very limited distribution and might be threatened by habitat loss or destruction. Bibliography. Benda & Vallo (2012), Benda, Spitzenberger eta/. (2014).Published as part of Burgin, Connor, 2019, Rhinolophidae, pp. 280-332 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 298, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.374852