* More than 1 100 species of bats in the world
* 74 species of bats are found in southern Africa
* Bats are regarded as allies to agriculture, as they are the major predators of night-flying insects, including many that are important agricultural pests.
* De Hoop Guano Cave in the Cape Province of South Africa is home to the largest aggregation of bats (300 000) in South Africa. This colony consumes an estimated 100 tons of insects annually.
* The Chiroptera is subdivided into the larger fruit-eating bats that belong to the Suborder Megachiroptera and the smaller predominantly insect-eating Suborder Microchiroptera
Cape Town - New bat species have been discovered in East and Southern Africa by researchers working at the University of Venda and Stellenbosch University, among others.
One of the species, Cohen's Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus cohenae) has been named after the South African discover, Lientjie Cohen.
"We now know that a total of five distinct species of large horseshoe bats occur in central and eastern Africa," said Professor Peter Taylor of the University of Venda.
"Now we also know that Hildebrandt's Horseshoe Bat, the species initially known to science, actually only occurs in East Africa."
Work began in 1980 when researchers noted anomalies in bats found in Zimbabwe.
DNA studies
Cohen is a scientist with the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency and discovered the Cohen's Horseshoe Bat in the Barberton Mountainlands Nature Reserve in 2004.
"We are naming this bat species after Ms Cohen to acknowledge her significant contribution toward the conservation and discovery of new bat species in South Africa, and particularly in Mpumalanga," said Taylor.
Dr Samantha Stoffberg, a researcher in the Evolutionary Genomics Research Group of the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University carried out DNA studies to confirm the unique nature of the bats.
The other species are Smithers' Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus smithersi), the Mozambican Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus mossambicus) and the Mount Mabu Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus mabuensis).
While the researchers examined the bats, they discovered additional surprises that confirm the classification of the species.
"These species are relatively old and evolved in the Pliocene Epoch over the past five to two million years," said Dr Woody Cotterill of Stellenbosch University who assisted in the discovery.
"We suggest that because of climatic extremes and geomorphological changes across eastern Africa, the ancestors of these species were isolated on either mountain tops or along river valleys."
Sometimes it’s not until you don’t see what you want to see, that you truly open your eyes.
Bats make up 25% of all mammal species, and are found throughout the world except for the most extreme desert and polar regions. The majority of species occupy tropical forests, with far fewer species found in colder temperate regions.
56 species occur in South Africa
Of the 75 species found in the sub region of southern Africa, 20 species of insectivorous bats and 2 species of fruit-eating bats are listed as Threatened in the IUCN Red List of threatened Animals. Of these, 9 are listed as either Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable, meaning that they face a high risk of extinction in the wild.
Wahlberg’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi)
To like or not to like.............We must only remember how useful they are
Nice trick they are doing there
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
Toko
