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For a book of this nature to be valuable and original, it depends on two critical factors: the efforts of past researchers who collected, described and mapped distributions of bats in our region, and the goodwill of current bat biologists to share their knowledge and resources, such as pictures, with us. The scientific data underpinning this book are almost entirely based on the collections of bats from southern Africa that have been deposited in museums around the world. These collections are a priceless resource without which our efforts to understand the species limits and distributions of African bats would be futile. The more than 14,000 museum specimens that form the foundation of this book have been collected over the past two centuries by scores of people, the most important of whom are mentioned in the section Museum Collections and Pioneering Researchers. We would like to pay special tribute to all these collectors, and hope that this book goes some way to acknowledging their efforts.

We are grateful to the following people who provided critical assistance: Dr Teresa Kearney, Ernest Seamark, Kate Richardson and Wendy White.

Tina Smith, always attentive to minute detail, generously and on a tight time schedule read the entire draft manuscript, picking up what seemed like a never-ending number of errors and omissions. We thank Clare Mateke for drawing our attention to numerous errors and inconsistencies in the first edition. Thank you. Any remaining errors are, of course, our own.

All the photographs in this book have been acknowledged in the captions. However, we would like to single out Dr Merlin Tuttle (Bat Conservation International) and Dr Brock Fenton for freely providing numerous photographs without which this book would have been far more incomplete than it presently is. We thank Petra Muller, Zoology Department, University of Cape Town, for her cheerful help with scanning batches of 35 mm slides. Paula Jenkins, Malcolm Perch, Ariya Dejtaradol and John Hanks aided and abetted searches to depict bat researchers. We are grateful to the many libraries and librarians for kind help with sourcing often obscure literature.

We relied heavily on museum curators who gave us permission to examine their collections or loaned us specimens. These include: Dr Nancy Simmons and the late Dr Karl Koopman (American Museum of Natural History, New York), Dr Nico Avenant (National Museum, Bloemfontein), Dr Seth Eiseb (National Museum of Namibia, Windhoek), Dr Teresa Kearney (Transvaal Museum, Pretoria), Dr Robert Kityo (Makerere University Museum of Zoology, Kampala), the late Lloyd Wingate (Amathole Museum, King William’s Town), Beryl Wilson (McGregor Museum, Kimberley), Denise Hammerton (South African Museum, Cape Town), Dr Julian Kerbis, the late Dr Bill Stanley and John Phelps (Field Museum, Chicago), Dr Michael Carleton, Linda Gordon and Dr Don E. Wilson (Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C.), Dr Judith Eger (Royal Ontario Museum), Wim Wendelen and Dr Wim van Neer (Musée Royale d’Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium), Jim Dines, Ken Stager and Dr Inez Horowitz (Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles), Paula Jenkins, Daphne Hills and Julie Ingles (Natural History Museum, London), Dr Christiane Denys and Jacques Cousin (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris), the late Dr David Harrison and Dr Paul Bates (Harrison Zoological Museum, Sevenoaks). A large proportion of the specimens, however, were housed in institutions where (either in the past or at present) two of us were curators: Dr Peter Taylor (Durban Natural Science Museum, Durban, 1990–2010) and Dr Woody Cotterill (Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, 1992–2004).

Dr Steven Goodman and Dr Teresa Kearney critically reviewed an earlier version of this book, and made numerous suggestions that greatly improved the content.

The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) granted substantial financial support without which the quality of the book would have been severely compromised. Dr Phoebe Barnard, in particular, did her utmost to ensure that the funds were secured. We thank Phoebe and her team at SANBI for their invaluable support. We also sincerely thank the following organisations and individuals for making funds available for the publication of this book: Bat Interest Group of KwaZulu-Natal (Bats KZN), the Dorothea Behr Fund of the Durban Natural Science Museum Trust Fund, All Out Africa Foundation, and Dr Andy Moore, who also kindly commented on the biogeography section.

We thank the University of the Witwatersrand Press for guiding this book through the publication process, particularly Tina Mössmer, Kirsten Perkins and Andrew Joseph. Tina’s professionalism, innovative ideas and attention to detail immeasurably improved the manuscript, for which we are eternally grateful.

The current curator of the Durban Natural Science Museum, Dr Leigh Richards, was very helpful in providing access to the collections and generously assisted with skull photographs of specimens from the collection.

ARA MONADJEM

I would like to thank my erstwhile boss, Dr I. S. Kunene, Head of Department of Biological Sciences (University of Swaziland), for never losing her sense of humour with my erratic schedule, which has often revolved around bats and bat expeditions. These expeditions have been supported by many colleagues, assistants, volunteers and students. In particular, I would like to thank Julien Cornut, Niall Higgins, Dr Lindy Lumsden, Mduduzi Ngwenya, Dorothea Pio, Maria Rasmussen, April Reside and Tina Smith. Kim Roques, through All Out Africa (www.alloutAfrica.org), provided financial and logistical support for many of these trips. Finally, I would like to thank Tina Smith for her support, passion for and dedication to the final stages of this project. I dedicate this book to my boys: Keyan, Damian and Liam. Thank you for loving me, despite my spatial isolation.

I have continued to receive support and encouragement from the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Eswatini, where I would like to single out my long-term collaborator and friend, as well as head of department, Dr T. A. Mahlaba. A very big thank you to Dr Leigh Richards, curator of mammals at the Durban Natural Science Museum for assisting with new distribution records and photographing skulls of newly acquired specimens. Thanks also to my wife Dr Sara Padidar for her willingness to engage in this project. I would like to thank Tina Mössmer for her diligent attention to detail and for making my life as easy as possible during the editorial process.

Ara Monadjem is Full Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Eswatini where he has been lecturing zoology for the past 27 years. His research has taken him across much of Africa. His academic interests are mostly centred around ecology and conservation, with special focus on small mammals and birds of prey. He has published widely, including five books and 165 scientific articles.

PETER TAYLOR

My contribution to this book was wholeheartedly supported by Guy Redman, Director of the Durban Natural Science Museum, as well as the management of the eThekwini Municipality’s Parks, Recreation and Culture Unit. I am indebted to them and all my museum colleagues for much moral and logistic support. In particular, Rawoof Ali (late), Anita Rautenbach and Kate Richardson assisted enormously with the preparation and curation of the bat collection in the Durban Natural Science Museum. Kate Richardson, Wendy White, Juan Wood, Fiona Mackenzie, Tammie van Zyl, Helen Bruigom, Carol and Graham Allan and other members of Bats KZN provided many spirited discussions about various aspects of bats and bat conservation. They also enthusiastically assisted with fieldwork and generally shared their knowledge, observations and experience, in particular concerning the behaviour and rehabilitation of captive bats. My wife, Frances, and children, Ashleigh, Robyn, Lauren and Ben, either stoically tolerated my frequent periods of absence or joined in the fun! I dedicate this book to my family and other animals (bats).

I acknowledge funding support from the University of Venda, the South African National Research Foundation and Department of Science and Technology through the SARChI Chair on Biodiversity Value and Change hosted at the University of Venda and co-hosted by the Centre for Invasion Biology of Stellenbosch University.

I thank all my bat students who have helped to advance our knowledge of southern African bats. Funding from the National Geographic Society for the Okavango Wilderness Project administered by the Wild Bird Trust contributed towards new knowledge of Angolan bats. The German Federal Government funded research on the diversity and ecosystem services of bats in agro-ecosystems in Limpopo Province, South Africa, through the SPACES (Science Partnerships for the Assessment of Complex Earth Systems) consortium. New knowledge from both projects is reported in this edition.

Peter Taylor is Full Professor in the School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences at the University of Venda, where he currently heads the NRF/DST South African Research Chair on Biodiversity Value and Change in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve. He was Curator of Mammals at the Durban Natural Science Museum for 21 years (1989–2010). In 1994 he co-founded the Bat Interest Group of KwaZulu-Natal. His academic interests include taxonomy, conservation, ecosystem services and ecologically based pest management, with special focus on bats and rodents. He has published four scientific books, a children’s novel, over 40 popular science articles and 160 scientific articles.

FENTON (WOODY) COTTERILL

I dedicate this book to Frank Ansell (1923–1996) and Reay Smithers (1907–1987), who each supported my bat research in so many ways, both directly and indirectly. Without their pioneering commitment, there would be a lot less data to report. Moreover, the opportunity to curate the wealth of specimens (many collected by Frank) in the Bulawayo Museum (inaugurated by Reay) remains an immense privilege. I also single out the kind help and encouragement of the late Dr David L. Harrison, who aided and encouraged my efforts over two decades, years after his pioneering work on the bat collection in the then Museum of Rhodesia. In complementary ways, all three of these scientists laid the foundations of this world-class mammal collection. The late Karl Koopman (AMNH) and the late John Edwards Hill (BM) selflessly provided expert advice and information. My bat research began whilst I was still a high school pupil at Falcon College, where biology teacher E. J. ‘Ted’ Marais, and Richard Peek, then the Curator of Mammals in Bulawayo, encouraged an aspiring interest in bats. Dave Cumming, Colin Craig, Debbie Gibson, Liz Herzholdt and Jon Hutton provided continuing help and encouragement. At the University of Zimbabwe, the late John Loveridge, Peter Frost, Brian Marshall, the late Steve Telford and ‘Basher’ Attwell supported my undivided commitment to bat biology (despite costs exacted on other arenas of academia). I also benefited from the mentorship and expertise of Andy McWilliam during his tenure in Zimbabwe (1987–1990) assessing pesticide impacts on bats in tsetse control areas. National Parks personnel at the former Sengwa Wildlife Research Area (SWRA) helped tirelessly with bat research through 1989; I am especially indebted to the late Ian Coulson, Resident Ecologist, who taught me so much. The Coulson family in Esigodini, and the Douie, Searle and Teede families in Harare all provided key support. J. Bingham, R. N. Cunliffe, G. Eick, R. A. Fergusson, A. J. Gardiner, M. C. M. Griffiths, G. R. Griffiths, the late Ron Hartley, K. Mkwananzi, A. Ndlovu, D. Parry, the late E. M. B. Parry, the late N. Sango-Moyo, T. Volpers and S. Wilson helped with fieldwork. Members of Operation Raleigh, and the Exploration Societies of Falcon College and Girls College, Bulawayo, provided help and vital logistical support, which aided the collection of so many of the specimens mapped through these pages. For over three decades, John Stakesby Lewis assumed a leading role in organising museum expeditions almost annually and often into remote regions. These biodiversity surveys collected a wealth of data, in addition to Chiroptera. I thank the many landowners for considerable support for inventories, including the Bingham, Bruce-Miller, Fisher and Middleton families in Zambia, and the Bristows and Coulsons in Zimbabwe. Almin Metal Industries and Saltrama Plastics in Harare are thanked for their generous donations of materials, vital for the construction of a variety of bat-collecting devices. Colleagues in Bulawayo, notably the late Don Broadley, Moira FitzPatrick, Kit Hustler, John Minshull, and Rudo Sithole, provided encouragement for my science, especially during some bleaker periods. Without the deep commitment of A. Ndlovu, K. Mkwananzi, the late N. Sango-Moyo, the late F. M. Masiyandima and the late A. N. Sango, there would be very few specimens to study in NMZB. This research has benefited immensely from a Biodiversity Leadership Award from the Bay Foundation, as well as from the Josephine Bay Paul and C. Michael Paul Foundations, New York City. The award provided critical funding that allowed work to be done directly on the immense wealth of specimens preserved in the museums outside Africa, and to add many thousands of specimen records to the database. I am especially grateful to all the curators, collection managers and research associates in so many museums in Europe and North America for boundless hospitality, helpful assistance and permissions to examine specimens. I thank Margaret Sandwith (Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town), who cheerfully located some of the most obscure publications. Jacqueline Bishop, Moctar Doucouré, Andy Duncan, and Maarten de Wit provided encouragement in Cape Town, which aided inputs into this book among a spectrum of research demands. The completion of the final, protracted episodes in this project was dependent on support provided under the auspices of AEON (University of Cape Town). Andy Moore and Glynis Humphrey provided sanctity in Maun, enabling me to devote undivided attention to penultimate tasks to the first edition. Lastly, I thank my family for continual support and encouragement in studying bats across Africa.

Fenton (Woody) Cotterill, BSc (Hons), MSc (Tropical Resource Ecology), PhD, is currently affiliated with the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project. His research interests in evolutionary biology and geomorphology straddle the life and earth sciences, focusing on phylogeographic studies of indicator species (fishes, birds and mammals) to decipher the evolution of Africa’s landscapes. He was previously a Research Fellow in the Africa Earth Observatory Network (AEON), University of Cape Town, and Curator of Mammals (1992–1997) and Principal Curator of Vertebrates (1997–2003) in Bulawayo’s Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe. His studies of African vertebrates (including bats) in museum collections worldwide, alongside fieldwork across Central Africa, are detailed in many publications. They include descriptions of three new species of mammals and fishes.

CORRIE SCHOEMAN

To my wife Tania, I am grateful beyond words for your unswerving support and love.

Corrie Schoeman is an Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Life Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He has travelled widely in Africa, Madagascar, Central America and Southeast Asia. His academic interests include evolutionary ecology, community ecology and behavioural ecology, with a special focus on small mammals. His publications include two books and more than 60 scientific articles.