Grandidier's trident bat (Paratriaenops auritus) is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae endemic to Madagascar. It was formerly assigned to the genus Triaenops, but is now placed in the separate genus Paratriaenops.
Taxonomy Guillaume Grandidier first described the species in 1912, as Triaenops aurita, on the basis of a single poorly preserved specimen collected at Diégo-Suarez (now Antsiranana) in northernmost Madagascar.Ranivo and Goodman, 2006, pp. 964–965 In his 1939 list of African mammals, Glover Morrill Allen placed the species as a synonym of Triaenops furcula (now Paratriaenops furcula) of western Madagascar,Allen, 1939, p. 82 and in his 1948 review of the genus Triaenops, Jean Dorst concurred, as did John Edwards Hill, who reviewed the genus in 1982.Ranivo and Goodman, 2006, p. 964 In their 1995 study of Madagascar bats, however, R.L. Peterson and colleagues reinstated it as a species. They also changed the specific name to auritus, presumably for gender agreement with the generic name Triaenops.Simmons, 2005, p. 378
Julie Ranivo and Steven Goodman revised Madagascar Triaenops in 2006 and clarified the distinction between T. auritus of northern Madagascar and the closely related T. furculus of western Madagascar, which have nonoverlapping ranges. Their paper reported the first new material of the species since its original description.Ranivo and Goodman, 2006, p. 965 They described a third species of this group in 2008—Triaenops pauliani (now Paratriaenops pauliani) from Aldabra in the nearby Seychelles.Goodman and Ranivo, 2008, p. 681 In 2007 and 2008, Amy Russell and colleagues investigated the relationships among Triaenops species using DNA sequence data; they confirmed the relationship between T. auritus and T. furculus and their status as distinct species.Russell et al., 2007, fig. 2; 2008 In view of the significant differences between the T. furculus group and other species of Triaenops, Petr Benda and Peter Villa removed the former in 2009 to a separate genus, Paratriaenops.Benda and Villa, 2009, p. 34 Triaenops still includes the Malagasy species Triaenops menamena (formerly Triaenops rufus), which is widespread in western Madagascar and overlaps with P. auritus and P. furcula in range,Russell et al., 2007, fig. 1 and Triaenops goodmani, an extinct species described in 2007Samonds, 2007, p. 46 that may also be related to Paratriaenops.Russell et al., 2008, p. 1001
Description Paratriaenops auritus is a large-eared, short-tailed bat.Garbutt, 2007, p. 72 The fur is reddish gold and is darker above than below.Goodman and Ranivo, 2008, p. 688 Both males and females are significantly larger than individuals of P. furcula.Ranivo and Goodman, 2006, pp. 969–970 On its face are the three lancets at the back of the noseleaf that are characteristic of Triaenops and Paratriaenops. As in P. furcula, the three lancets are straight and about equal in length; in Triaenops, the middle lancet is longer and the outer two are curved.Goodman and Ranivo, 2008, p. 686; Benda and Vallo, 2009, p. 33
Distribution and ecology P. auritus has a small range in far northern Madagascar, perhaps south to the Andrafiamena Mountains. It is relatively abundant in its range and occurs in dry forests. It roosts in caves, and the largest colony contains an estimated 2000 bats.
Conservation status The IUCN Red List lists P. auritus (as Triaenops auritus) as "Vulnerable" because of its small, fragmented, and declining range. Agricultural activities in particular are causing habitat destruction and fragmentation, and disturbance of its cave roosts may pose another threat. However, it occurs in three protected areas—Réserve Spéciale d'Ankarana, Réserve Spéciale d'Analamerana, and a forest at Daraina. The IUCN recommends that conservation efforts be focused on monitoring and protecting the known cave roosts.
References
Benda, P. and Vallo, P. 2009. Taxonomic revision of the genus Triaenops (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) with description of a new species from southern Arabia and definitions of a new genus and tribe. Folia Zoologica 58 (Monograph 1):1–45. Garbutt, N. 2007. Mammals of Madagascar: A Complete Guide. London: A & C Black, 304 pp. Goodman, S.M. and Ranivo, J. 2008. A new species of Triaenops (Mammalia, Chiroptera, Hipposideridae) from Aldabra Atoll, Picard Island (Seychelles). Zoosystema 30(3):681–693. Goodman, S.M. and Ranivo, J. 2009. The geographical origin of the type specimens of Triaenops rufus and T. humbloti (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) reputed to be from Madagascar and the description of a replacement species name (subscription required). Mammalia 73:47–55. Ranivo, J. and Goodman S.M. 2006. Révision taxinomique des Triaenops malgaches (Mammalia, Chiroptera, Hipposideridae). Zoosystema 28(4):963–985. Russell, A.L., Ranivo, J., Palkovacs, E.P., Goodman, S.M. and Yoder, A.D. 2007. Working at the interface of phylogenetics and population genetics: a biogeographical analysis of Triaenops spp. (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae). Molecular Ecology 16:839–851. Russell, A.L., Goodman, S.M. and Cox, M.P. 2008. Coalescent analyses support multiple mainland-to-island dispersals in the evolution of Malagasy Triaenops bats (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae). Journal of Biogeography 35:995–1003. Samonds, K.E. 2007. Late Pleistocene bat fossils from Anjohibe Cave, northwestern Madagascar. Acta Chiropterologica 9(1):39–65.