Red List of South African Species

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Least Concern (LC)
Assessors: Ara Monadjem Leigh Rosanne Richards Lientjie Cohen David Jacobs Kate MacEwan Corrie Schoeman Theresa Sethusa Peter Taylor Peter Taylor
Contributors: Lizanne Roxburgh Samantha Page-Nicholson
Reviewers: Matthew Child Domitilla Raimondo

Rationale

This species is listed as Least Concern due to its wide distribution within the savannah regions of South Africa and Swaziland (estimated extent of occurrence is 174,992 km2), its occurrence in several protected areas (including the Kruger National Park, Mapungubwe National Park, Entabeni Nature Reserve) and its presumed large population size. The savannah biome is well protected within the assessment region and this species can tolerate some habitat modification. There is enough information to list as Least Concern.

Regional population effects: Common in the region with much dispersal between subpopulations within and outside of the assessment region.

Distribution

This species is widespread in southern Africa. Its distribution ranges from the southern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and southern Tanzania, to the eastern coastline of South Africa. It ranges from eastern Angola and northern Botswana to the southeastern African coastline. It has been recorded at elevations of up to 2,185 m above sea level, although it has mostly been collected between 500 and 1,500 m above sea level (Mickleburgh et al. 2008). In the assessment region, the species is recorded from Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the northern reaches of KwaZulu-Natal (Monadjem et al. 2010). The species also occurs throughout Swaziland but is absent from Lesotho (Monadjem et al. 2010). It appears to be absent from coastal forest in southern Mozambique (Monadjem et al. 2010).

 

Population trend

Trend

This species is widespread and abundant in the northeastern parts of the assessment region (namely the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces). It forms loose colonies of fewer than a 100 individuals in each colony (Monadjem et al. 2010). It is well represented in museums, with over 160 records examined in Monadjem et al. (2010). It may occur sympatrically with E. wahlbergi, but usually one or the other species is numerically dominant (Monadjem et al. 2010).

Threats

There appear to be no major threats to this species as a whole. Some populations outside of the assessment region may be impacted by general persecution as crop pests and loss of habitat due to deforestation (ACR 2015). Roost disturbance and removal of large trees used as roost sites are also plausible threats in some parts of its range.

Uses and trade

The species is not known to be traded for commercial or subsistence use.

Conservation

It has been recorded from many protected areas within the assessment region, although these remain to be fully listed. Currently, it is recorded from the protected Kruger National Park, Mapungubwe National Park, Entabeni Nature Reserve, Songimvelo Nature Reserve as well as Mlawula Nature Reserve in Swaziland. No direct conservation measures are needed for this widespread and adaptable species as a whole.

Recommendations for land managers and practitioners:

  • Protect large fruit bearing trees.

Research priorities:

  • Determine how climate change will affect this species.
  • Identify key roost sites and undertake systematic monitoring to determine subpopulation trends.

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. This species is easily confused with E. wahlbergi but can be distinguished by by the presence of two post-dental palatal ridges (Photo 1) (only one in E. wahlbergi) (Taylor & Monadjem 2008).

References 

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