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