| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication: | 1996 |
| Authors: | T. Volpers, Kumirai A. |
| Journal: | Arnoldia Zimbabwe |
| Volume: | 10 |
| Pagination: | 103-109 |
| Date Published: | 1996 |
| Keywords: | allopatric, Chiroptera, distribution, ecology, Epomophorus gambianus crypturus, Epomophorus wahlbergi, food, frugivory, habitat preferences, Mammalia, morphology, Pteropodidae, Southern Africa, sympatric, systematics, taxonomy, Vegetation, Zimbabwe |
| Abstract: | The distribution of Epomophorus Bennett, 1836 in Zimbabwe was reviewed using available specimens and published records. The typical distinguishing feature - two thick postdental palatal ridges in Epomophorus gambianus crypturus Peters, 1852 and one in E. wahlbergi (Sundevall, 1846) - is not always valid in immature E. gambianus. In Zimbabwe, both sexes of adult E. wahlbergi have a stouter skull, and males a shorter skull, compared to E. gambianus crypturus. Female E. wahlbergi are slightly larger than E. g. crypturus. These corrections of specimen identifies has changed the distribution of E. wahlbergi in Zimbabwe. E. wahlbergi occurs only in river valleys along the southern and northeastern edges of the country and in the high rainfall areas along the eastern border, while E. g. crypturus is more widespread and its distribution corresponds to that of the fruit-bearing tree Parinari curatellifolia. |