Alpine long-eared

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Alpine long-eared
Plecotus macrobullaris - Ph. Karol Tabarelli de Fatis.jpg

Alpine long-eared ( Plecotus macrobullaris )

Systematics
Superfamily : Smooth-nosed (Vespertilionoidea)
Family : Smooth-nosed (Vespertilionidae)
Subfamily : True smooth-nosed (Vespertilioninae)
Tribe : Plecotini
Genre : Long-eared bats ( Plecotus )
Type : Alpine long-eared
Scientific name
Plecotus macrobullaris
Kuzjakin , 1965

The alpine long-eared bat ( Plecotus macrobullaris ) is a bat species from the genus of long-eared bats (Plecotus) within the smooth-nosed family (Vespertilionidae). She lives in mountainous regions in Europe and Western Asia . The species is considered to be monotypical and the differentiation made earlier between the two subspecies "P. m. alpinus "and" P. m. macrobullaris “is no longer maintained according to recent genetic and morphological studies. The IUCN classifies the long-eared alpine long-eared animal as safe.

features

The species is somewhat larger than the brown long-eared long-eared species that is also common in Central Europe . The head-trunk length is 46–55 mm, the forearm length 37–46 mm, the tail length 41–53 mm and the ear length 34–38 mm. The animals weigh 6-10 g. The upper side is light gray, light reddish brown or light brown gray, depending on the distribution, the underside is yellowish white or grayish white to almost white. The head is predominantly whitish, with a dark face drawing from the corners of the mouth to the eyes. A triangular, gray, hard field at the tip of the lower jaw is evidently characteristic of the species.

distribution and habitat

The exact extent of the distribution area is not yet known, but according to the current state of knowledge, the species inhabits large parts of the mountains of the south-western Palearctic in numerous isolated sub-areas . The area extends in a west-east direction from the Pyrenees over the Alps , the Dinaric Alps , western Greece including Crete over parts of Turkey to the Caucasus and into southern Iran . The southernmost occurrences are in Iran and Syria . The species predominantly inhabits the colline and montane elevations of the mountains and shows a clear preference for karst areas. Plecotus macrobullaris occurs from sea level up to 2800 m altitude.

Systematics

The species was first described in 1965 using animals from the Caucasus in northern Ossetia as the subspecies Plecotus auritus macrobullaris of the brown long-eared ear ( Plecotus auritus ). In 2002, animals from the western Alps were newly described as Plecotus alpinus and from the eastern Alps as Plecotus microdontus, independently of one another . However, based on genetic and morphological investigations, it was found in 2003 that these two newly described species are conspecific with Plecotus auritus macrobullaris . As a result of these investigations, the subspecies was raised to the species rank, as the older name the specific epithet macrobullaris has priority.

The internal systematics of the species has not yet been adequately clarified, the results of the present investigations are partly contradicting. In 2004 it was proposed that the occurrences in the Caucasus, Turkey, the Pindus , Crete and the Italian Friuli as subspecies P. m. macrobullaris and all other European occurrences as P. m. to guide alpinus . However, further genetic and morphological studies could not confirm this breakdown. In a molecular genetic investigation also in 2004, animals from Iran, Syria, Crete, Switzerland and the Pyrenees formed a common group without a geographically verifiable genetic breakdown. Spitzberger et al. on the other hand were able to detect a western clade from animals from the Eastern Alps (Austria, Friuli and Slovenia) and the Balkans and an eastern clade from animals from the Caucasus, Turkey and Iran, but one of the animals found in Friuli could be assigned to the eastern clade. According to skull measurements carried out by the same authors, the populations of the Caucasus, the European deciduous forests and the Eastern Alps ultimately form a common morphotype that can be distinguished from animals from the Balkans, Turkey and Syria.

Way of life

There is hardly any information about the way of life of the species. Like the other species of long-eared bats, it is likely to feed on insects and spiders that are collected from the vegetation or the ground. The nurseries are often located in churches and contain up to 50 animals. Winter quarters have not yet been found.

Existence and endangerment

The long-eared alpine long-eared is apparently generally not common and its distribution is partly very isolated, up to 2003 fewer than 50 nurseries were found. However, the distribution area is quite large and more colonies will probably be found in the near future. The IUCN therefore classifies the world population as safe (“least concern”).

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Plecotus macrobullaris on the IUCN Red List, with distribution map
  2. ↑ for a summary see Spitzenberger, F., Strelkov, PP, Winkler, H. & Haring, E .: A preliminary revision of the genus Plecotus (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) based on genetic and morphological results. Zoologica Scripta 35, 2006: p. 206
  3. ↑ Spitzenberger, F., Strelkov, PP, Winkler, H. & Haring, E .: A preliminary revision of the genus Plecotus (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) based on genetic and morphological results. Zoologica Scripta 35, 2006: pp. 187-230

literature

  • S. Aulagnier, P. Haffner, AJ Mitchell-Jones, F. Moutou, J. Zima: The mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East - The destination guide. Haupt Verlag; Bern, Stuttgart, Vienna 2009: pp. 80–81, ISBN 978-3-258-07506-8
  • Spitzenberger, F., Strelkov, PP, Winkler, H. & Haring, E .: A preliminary revision of the genus Plecotus (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) based on genetic and morphological results. Zoologica Scripta 35, 2006: pp. 187-230
  • Antton Alberdi, Ostaizka Aizpurua: Plecotus macrobullaris (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae). Mammalian Species 50 (958) May 9, 2018; Pp. 26-33. doi : 10.1093 / mspecies / sey003

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