Taxon name
Otonycteris hemprichii
Peters, 1859
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Otonycteris hemprichii
Peters, 1859
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Mammals
Species authority
Peters, 1859
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Data deficient
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This species is assessed as Data Deficient because only a single old record is known, from Ras Al Khaimah. The species may well occur elsewhere in the country, however, it is also possible that the specimen remains may not have originated from within the UAE. No regional adjustment is made to the Data Deficient assessment.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
URL (link) of redlist assessment or publication
https://www.moccae.gov.ae/assets/download/b352eff1/UNRL%20of%20Mammals%20-%20Report%202019.pdf.aspx?view=true
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
The only records for UAE consist of skulls retrieved in 1972 from raptor pellets found in a cave in Ras Al Khaimah (Harrison 1977). It may occur more widely in UAE, especially the Hajar Mountains (Harrison and Bates 1991, Jomat et al. 2018, Judas et al. 2018). The species is distributed across the desert zone from Morocco to northwest India and it is widespread in the Arabian Peninsula.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
The UAE records are from a mountain wadi. It also occurs in open desert areas and roosts in rock crevices and sometimes in buildings (Harrison and Bates 1991).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Unknown. The increasing extent and intensity of urban lighting may have a negative impact on nocturnal flying invertebrates, the main prey base. Species in the mountains may be affected indirectly by falling water tables due to over-abstraction and reduced precipitation.
History
The backcasted 1996 assessment for this species is Data Deficient which matches the listing given by Hornby (1996).
Publication
Mallon, D., Hilton-Taylor, C., Allen, D., & Harding, K. (2019). UAE National Red List of Mammals: Marine and Terrestrial. A report to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates (p. 41). IUCN Global Species Programme. https://bit.ly/2RdZCQR
