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UFS biologists discover new tiny, white-thumbed bat species from Eswatini

13 October 2022 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo Rio Button

The Lowveld serotine bat, named Neoromicia hlandzeni.

Biological expeditions to the unexplored central highlands of Angola between 2016 and 2019 led to the discovery of a new tiny, white-thumbed bat species from Eswatini by Prof Peter John Taylor from the UFS Department of Zoology and Entomology and the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), together with colleagues from the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) and other collaborators.

The bat species, named Neoromicia hlandzeni or the Lowveld serotine bat – after the Lowveld of Eswatini (eHlandzeni) – is the first new animal species to be discovered in Eswatini and given a siSwati name. The Lowveld serotine bat is tiny at four grams, has a distinctive white thumb pad, and occurs in Eswatini, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.

Bats make up a quarter of all mammalian biodiversity. With modern technology and the exploration of previously inaccessible regions of Africa, the rate of discovery of both animal and plant species is accelerating.

According to Prof Taylor, the Lowveld serotine bat is a new species to science. The specimen from which the species was named was collected in the lowlands of Eswatini in 2005. “Later collections of bats from the highlands of Angola, undertaken by myself and students, revealed the fact that the highland and lowland forms were actually different species. Since there was already a name for the highland bat, we needed to find a new name for the lowland bat from Eswatini and South Africa, hence it is called the Lowveld serotine bat,” he said.

The importance of integrative taxonomy, local collaboration, and biodiversity surveys

Prof Taylor is a research fellow of the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, and the bat discovery took place during expeditions under the patronage of the Angolan government, the Wild Bird Trust, and the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project. He said the aim of the expedition was to explore the plants and animals of a wilderness area (the source of the Okavango) that had not been explored before.

The discovery also led to their paper being published in the scientific journal, the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, this month.

The publication, titled Integrative taxonomic analysis of new collections from the central Angolan highlands resolves the taxonomy of African pipistrelloid bats on a continental scale, showcases the importance of integrative taxonomy, local collaboration, and biodiversity surveys, as the description of this exciting new species would not have been possible without comparative genetic and morphological material from new collections in the poorly sampled central highlands of Angola.

Prof Peter Taylor with his students, Veli Mdluli and Alexandra Howard, working on bat research. Howard was one of the co-authors of the paper. (Photo: Supplied)

Afromontane regions as hotspots of bat speciation, diversity, and micro-endemism

Although Prof Taylor is the first author to describe this new species, the work was done with a multidisciplinary team of colleagues, students, and collaborators from the UFS, UNESWA, the University of Pretoria, the University of Venda, and Stellenbosch University, as well as the Durban Natural Science Museum and the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, with support from the Angolan government, the Wild Bird Trust, and the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project.

“Describing a new species is an arduous task that can take years from discovery to publication. All the enormous collective efforts have shown the importance of collaborative biodiversity exploration using old and modern technologies, as well as the African ownership of this discovery,” Prof Taylor said.

Three of Prof Taylor's previous and current PhD students – all of them South African women – were part of this discovery process and are co-authors of the paper. All 14 co-authors in the team are African. Prof Taylor said the discovery adds a new species to the total bat list of 125 species for Southern Africa – at number 126.

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Honorary doctorate to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu attracts wide attention

2011-01-27

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu after receiving his honorary doctorate in Theology at the UFS.
- Photo: Hannes Pieterse

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The University of the Free State (UFS) awarded an honorary doctorate to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu on Thursday, 27 January 2011. The graduation ceremony, which was attended by guests from across the country marks a milestone in the history of the university.

Amongst the guests were the ambassador of the USA to South Africa, Mr Donald Gips; the British High Commissioner to South Africa, Dr Nicola Brewer; members of the local government; Ms Barbara Hogan, former Minister of Public Works and the daughters of Bram Fischer, Ruth Fischer-Rice and Ilse Fischer-Wilson. Friends of Dr Tutu, Dr Ahmed Kathrada, Ms Barbara Hogan and Dr Allan and Ms Elna Boesak also attended the occasion.

The UFS also received a message of congratulations from the Deputy President of South Africa, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe. “The choice to honour this exemplar of virtue to which most of the world still look for direction as it buckles under social, political and economic difficulties is laudable in all respects,” he said.

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, said: “We honour a great son of South Africa who made a tremendous contribution to peace, reconciliation and justice in South Africa and in the world.

“There were times when few of us thought apartheid would end in our lifetime, yet you stood as a rock reassuring us, not about a black future, but about our common future. For this reason, Arch, we would not miss this opportunity to honour you for any reason whatsoever.

“You, Sir, are a Jew among Muslims, a Christian among Hindus, a Catholic among Anglicans, a bridge-builder among all of us. That is why we love you; because you look deeper and see further than all of us.”

According to Prof. Francois Tolmie, Dean of the UFS’s Faculty of Theology, the university honours Dr Tutu for his contribution as theologian – through his teaching and the books he wrote – as well as for the role he played in bringing about reconciliation in South Africa as well as in the rest of the world. The university also honours Dr Tutu as a moral and spiritual leader who never sacrificed his integrity as a Christian.

Apart from being a church leader and a leading world figure, Dr Tutu is the author of several books and also held a number of teaching posts at various tertiary institutions.

In 1984, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his role as a unifying leader figure in the campaign to abolish apartheid in South Africa. A further highlight in his career was his election as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986. He was the first black African to serve in this position, which placed him at the head of the Anglican Church in South Africa.

Many South Africans also remember the role he played when President Nelson Mandela appointed him in December 1995 to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was established to investigate human rights violations during the apartheid era. The Archbishop guided the nation in the process of choosing forgiveness over revenge and in so doing set a historic international precedent.

In 1996, he retired as Archbishop of Cape Town but continues to speak out in favour of human rights, equality and social justice in South Africa and throughout the world.

In August 2009, President Barack Obama presented him with the Medal of Freedom, the United States of America’s highest civilian honour. Dr Desmond Tutu is recognised around the world as a moral leader committed to the human rights of all people.

Today he is chairman of The Elders, a group of world leaders who, in view of their integrity and leadership, are equipped to deal with some of the world’s most pressing problems.

Prof. Tolmie says: “It is often asked how Dr Tutu could have achieved all this in the span of one lifetime. Some people would refer to his warm personality or his humanness, his deep sense of humility or his wonderful sense of humour. Probing a little deeper, however, one is struck by Dr Tutu’s deep relationship with God. He is known as a man of faith, a man of prayer. He lives his life coram Deo, in the presence of God.”

Dr Tutu also lead the introduction ceremony of the UFS’s International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice.

Media Release
27 January 2011
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

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