# Somali serotine (Neoromicia somalica)

> The Somali serotine, a savanna bat named after Somalia: its wide African range, its family, Red List status and its four shared records from Somalia.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/nature/somali-serotine/
Last checked: 2026-11-13
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## In short

The Somali serotine (*Neoromicia somalica*) is a bat of the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae. Its natural habitat is savanna ([IUCN Red List, *Neoromicia somalica*, 2017](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T44925A22046866.en)).

Oldfield Thomas described it in 1901 under another genus; the brackets in its scientific name show it has since been moved ([GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/species/7990922)).

## Range

Despite its name, the bat lives across much of Africa south of the Sahara. It is recorded in Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, [Sudan](/en/diaspora/sudan/), [Tanzania](/en/diaspora/tanzania/), Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe ([IUCN Red List, 2017](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T44925A22046866.en); [Wikipedia, Somali serotine, backup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_serotine)).

Few records exist from Somalia itself: GBIF holds four, the last from 1980 (see records below).

## Records in Somali lands

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) holds 4 records of the Somali serotine from Somalia, dated from 1897 to 1980 ([GBIF occurrence search, Somalia](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?country=SO&taxon_key=7990922)). By type: 2 specimens cited in published papers, 2 museum specimens.

The oldest dated record is a museum specimen from 1897, from a place recorded as "Hargaisa 3500ft /", held by the Natural History Museum, [London](/en/diaspora/london/) ([GBIF record 1919784308](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/1919784308)).

The newest dated record is a museum specimen from 1980, from a place recorded as "SNAI Sugar plantation, 1.5 km S, 0.5 km E Giohar, 02° 46'N, 45° 31'E", held by TCWC ([GBIF record 675878783](http://portal.vertnet.org/o/tcwc/mammals?id=urn-catalog-tcwc-mammals-41940)).

GBIF only holds what museums, scientists and observers have shared, so the counts show where the animal or plant has been recorded, not its full range.

## Red List status

The IUCN Red List category for the Somali serotine is **Least Concern** ([IUCN Red List assessment](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T44925A22046866.en); [GBIF species page](https://www.gbif.org/species/7990922)).

## Classification

| Rank | Name |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Chiroptera |
| Family | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus | Neoromicia |
| Species | *Neoromicia somalica* |

Scientific name with author: *Neoromicia somalica* (Thomas, 1901) ([GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/species/7990922)).

## Related pages

- [Mammals of Somalia](/en/nature/mammals-of-somalia/)

## Sources

- [IUCN Red List assessment](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T44925A22046866.en)
- [GBIF species page](https://www.gbif.org/species/7990922)
- [GBIF occurrence records, Somalia](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?country=SO&taxon_key=7990922)
- [Wikipedia (backup)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_serotine)

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