A New Species of Pipistrelle Bat (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Southern Arabia

A new species of the genus Pipistrellus is described from the Dhofar region, southern Arabia. The new species occurs in a very limited area lesser than 1,000 km2, situated in the belt of relative humid savannah habitats of coastal Arabia between easternmost Yemen and south-western Oman. This bat represents the eighth pipistrelle species known from Arabia and fourth bat species endemic to southern Arabia. The new species is positioned morphologically and genetically very close to the group of the Oriental species of the genus Pipistrellus and represents the westernmost offshoot of the Oriental vespertilionid bat fauna, isolated for more than 1,500 km across the Indian Ocean from the area of continuous distribution of this fauna in the Indian Subcontinent.