Specimen records referred to Miniopterus majori Thomas, 1906 (Chiroptera) from the Comoros Islands

摘要

Miniopterus majori, named from specimens collected in the Central Highlands of Madagascar, is generally considered a bat of higher elevations and its known day roosts include caves and rock shelters. A series of 15 specimens collected by Leon Humblot in the Comoros Islands (Grande Comore) in the late 19th century are the only known records of this taxon outside Madagascar. We compared specimens of M. majori from Madagascar (Central Highlands) to those from Grande Comore and concluded that they are similar and best considered conspecific, based on morphological and cranial characters. No evidence of M. majori was found during a recent extensive survey of Grande Comore, with the majority of caves on the island known to hold bats visited. It is proposed that the locality information of the Humblot specimens is incorrect and that they were collected on Madagascan.