Red List of South African Species

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Least Concern (LC)
Assessors: Lientjie Cohen David Jacobs Ara Monadjem Leigh Rosanne Richards Corrie Schoeman Theresa Sethusa Peter Taylor
Reviewers: Domitilla Raimondo

Rationale (Changed due to Incorrect data used previously)

Listed as Least Concern as this species is widely distributed across the northern and eastern regions of the assessment region, is inferred to have a large population, and because no major threats have been identified that could cause extensive population declines. Like other Chiropteran species, protecting and limiting disturbance to key roost sites will benefit this species.

Regional population effects: This distribution records for this species are continuous between the northeastern section of the assessment region and Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Dispersal into and out of the assessment region is suspected to be ongoing.

Distribution

Sundevall’s Leaf-nosed Bat has an extensive distribution across sub-Saharan Africa and the south-western Arabian Peninsula (Simmons 2005). In Africa, there is an isolated population in Morocco, and their distribution extends from Senegal eastwards to Sudan and Ethiopia, southwards into Kenya and Tanzania, but are absent from the central dense forest areas. Their distribution continues southwards along the eastern and western regions of southern Africa, but this is restricted to the nominate H. c. caffer lineage (Vallo et al. 2008). Disjunct populations have been recorded in northern and southern Namibia and Botswana, but they are widespread across Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Within the assessment region, the species occurs in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the northern areas of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, as well as in Swaziland ( Skinner & Chimimba 2005; Monadjem et al. 2010). The type specimen is from Durban, South Africa (BM 1848.6.2.16, Syntype) (Monadjem et al. 2010).

Population trend

Trend

Sundevall's Leaf-nosed Bat is considered a common species, with colonies in the hundreds reported within the assessment region, and is well represented in museums with over 900 specimens examined in Monadjem et al. (2010). The species is extremely gregarious, and forms colonies ranging from less than a dozen to huge colonies of more than 1,000 individuals where there is adequate roosting space (Kock et al. 2008; Monadjem et al. 2010). Occasionally, males may roost solitarily (Monadjem et al. 2010).

Threats

Human disturbance at roosting sites (such as religious ceremonies by local communities and cave tourism) has been highlighted as a threat to Sundevall’s Leaf-nosed Bat, although this is unlikely to cause significant declines of this species across its distribution.

Uses and trade

Not known to be utilised or traded in any form.

Conservation

Although, no specific conservation measures are reported to be in place for this species, it is likely that it would benefit from protection of key roost sites. The species occurs in protected areas throughout its range (ACR 2015).

Recommendations for land managers and practitioners:
  • Reduce pesticide use in agricultural landscapes.
Research priorities:
  • Taxonomic resolution of the H. caffer-ruber species complex.
Encouraged citizen actions:
  • Citizens can assist the conservation of the species by reporting sightings on virtual museum platforms (for example, iSpot and MammalMAP), and therefore contribute to an understanding of the species distribution.

References 

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,]
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