Scotophilus tandrefana


The western yellow bat is a species of vesper bat endemic to Madagascar.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 2005.
The holotype had been collected in 2003 just outside the Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve in Madagascar.
Its species name "" is Malagasy for "from the west".

Description

It has a forearm length of approximately, a tail length of, and an ear length of.
The holotype weighed.
The fur of its back is dark brown, while its belly fur is a medium shade of brown.
It uses echolocation to navigate and find prey: it utilizes steep frequency-modulated echolocation as well as that of a quasi-constant frequency.
Its echolocation reaches maximum energy around 48.2 kHz.
Minimum frequency is 42.2 kHz, while maximum frequency is 91.2 kHz.

Conservation

As of 2019, it is listed as a data deficient species by the IUCN.
It meets the criteria for this classification because only a few individuals have ever been documented and no data is available regarding its population size or the threats the species faces.