Red List of South African Species

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Near Threatened (NT)
Assessors: David Jacobs Lientjie Cohen Leigh Rosanne Richards Ara Monadjem Corrie Schoeman Kate MacEwan Theresa Sethusa Peter Taylor
Contributors: Matthew Child
Reviewers: David Jacobs Lientjie Cohen Leigh Rosanne Richards Ara Monadjem Corrie Shoeman Kate MacEwan Theresa Sethusa Peter Taylor

Rationale (Changed due to New Information)

This species has a very wide distribution globally occurring in the Palaearctic and the Afrotropics. Within the assessment region it has an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 139,615 km2. It is a rarely recorded, difficult to sample species with small subpopulations. Moreover, the species is severely fragmented with an overall suspected regional population of fewer than 2,000 individuals. There is no evidence of decline, therefore the species is listed as Near Threatened under the D1 criterion.

Regional population effects: As it is a short-winged species that is unable to disperse large distance it is unlikely to be experiencing immigration from neighbouring countries

Distribution

The Peak-saddle Horseshoe Bat has a large range in the Palaearctic and the Afrotropics, throughout which it is widely but patchily distributed. In southern Africa, it occurs form northeastern South Africa and Swaziland, through Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique. Its range extends through southern Malawi to East Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Ethiopia and into North Africa. Altitude range is from sea level to 1,200 m.

The subspecies R. b. empusa is mostly restricted to southern Africa, including Malawi and Zambia, occurring marginally beyond in the eastern The Democratic Republic of Congo (Csorba et al. 2003) and Tanzania (Kock & Howell 1988). Regionally, it occurs in Swaziland (Monadjem 2005), Zimbabwe (Cotterill 1996), and there are isolated records from central and northern Mozambique (Monadjem et al. 2010) (Table 1). Within the assessment region, specifically, it occurs in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa (Figure 1). Within Kruger National Park, it occurs in the Pafuri region. Historical records also exist from Gauteng Province, but it has not been collected there since 1956. It is widely but sparsely distributed in the eastern parts of the region. The southern African subspecies is not well represented in museums, with just over 60 specimens examined in Monadjem et al. (2010).

The extent of occurrence (EOO) within the assessment region, based on known recorded colonies, is 139,615 km2.

Population trend

Trend

In Africa, the species is not very common. Within the assessment region, it is rarely captured. However, this may be due to it having many small subpopulations. The overall population in the region is suspected to be low. It does not typically roost in large caves but prefers small caves, and mine adits where it is difficult to sample. There are only a small number of roost sites within the assessment region. Friedmann and Daly (2004) counted only four or five roosts. However, based on current distribution records (Figure 1), there are only between 20 and 30 major cave roosting sites within the assessment region, which we construe as separate subpopulations. There are thus suspected to be between 200 and 3,000 individuals in total.

Threats

The major threat to this species within the assessment region is disturbance by tourist visits to caves, the use of the caves as shelters for livestock (ACR 2013), and the use of caves for traditional ceremonies by local communities. Re-commissioning of old mines is also a threat (Monadjem et al. 2010). Logging for firewood from local communities and deforestation is thus also suspected to be a threat. Afforestation is not suspected to be a major threat as they can utilise plantations. Climate change is a potential minor threat for bats (Sherwin et al. 2013), as it may reduce tree-cover and thus roosting and foraging sites, as well as fragmenting subpopulations.

It is unknown whether these threats are currently causing the population to decline within the assessment region.

Uses and trade

Not known to be traded.

Conservation

Protection of caves and monitoring of subpopulations is required. In the assessment region, the species is recorded from the protected areas: Kruger National Park; Wonderkop Nature Reserve; Cradle of Humankind Heritage Site and Ithala Game Reserve. No specific interventions are necessary at present.

Recommendations for land managers and practitioners: Field surveys to discover new roost sites and confirm occupancy of existing roost sites.

Research priorities: Taxonomic research is needed to clarify the status of the African populations.

Encouraged citizen actions: Minimise disturbance to caves when visiting.

References 

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}
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 year = {2004}
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 author = {Kock D, Howell KM},
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 author = {Monadjem A},
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 title = {Recording of the call of the Peak-saddle Horseshoe Bat (<i>Rhinolophus blasii</i> Peters, 1867) from Swaziland},
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,@article{19515,
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}
,]
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