New late Pliocene bats (Chiroptera) from Ahl al Oughlam, Morocco

The late Pliocene (2.5 Ma) locality of Ahl al Oughlam near Casablanca in Morocco contains a diverse mammalian faunal assemblage. Here we describe the first chiropterans from this locality. The known bat community from Ahl al Oughlam consists of four taxa including new species of Rhinolophus, Myotis, and Miniopterus. These new species, along with a poorly represented possible emballonurid, all indicate that the late Pliocene Moroccan bat assemblage was derived mainly from European rather than East or South African source areas. In terms of taxonomic com position, Miocene North African bat communities resemble South African communities with both being dominated by rhinolophoids and megadermatids. By the late Pliocene, vesper bats make up the majority of North African taxa, while rhinolophoids still dominate South as well as East African bat communities.