Little horseshoe bat
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Lesser horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus hipposideros ) |
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| Rhinolophus hipposideros | ||||||||||||
| ( Bechstein , 1800) |
The lesser horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus hipposideros ) is a bat from the family of horseshoe bats . With a length of around 40 millimeters and a maximum wingspan of 250 millimeters, it is significantly smaller than the great horseshoe bat , which it otherwise looks very similar. Their upper side is gray-brown without a reddish tone, the underside gray to gray-white. The young are dark gray. The species is unmistakable in that it is the smallest European Rhinolophus species and its nasal blade has a wedge-shaped saddle.
Occurrence
The heat-loving lesser horseshoe bat prefers structure-rich areas on the outskirts of settlements in the low mountain ranges and is also found in wooded areas. Small tunnels or tree hollows serve as summer quarters. Like all representatives of their species, the animals always hang freely, so they are never hidden in crevices or holes. The highest known nursery of this type in Switzerland is located 1,177 meters above sea level . Especially in the north of their range, they are often found in attics, near chimneys or in boiler rooms.
Nocturnal hunt takes place preferably in deciduous forests and semi-open landscapes such as parks, avenues, orchards and on areas next to trees on water and buildings. For orientation in flight, almost gap-free structures of trees and hedges are important. "Free areas of more than 200 m are rarely flown over."
Settled are southern and central Europe - north roughly to the transition from the central European low mountain range to the north German lowlands -, north and east Africa and the Middle East to Kashmir . Compared to the Great Horseshoe Bat, the distribution area in Europe extends a little further north (about to the 52nd parallel ) and thus also includes a larger part of southern and central Germany and, for example, the western part of Ireland .
Reproduction
The mating season begins in autumn and lasts until the coming spring, although it is usually interrupted in winter. So it happens that the mating normally takes place shortly after hibernation in the wintering cave. In the spring, the females gather in nurseries to give birth to their offspring individually. Immediately after birth, the young hold on to a "dummy teat". In the first few weeks, the young animals fly out hunting independently of their mothers. Depending on the food available, they become independent in the sixth to eighth week and sexually mature after about a year.
food
The little horseshoe bat hunts only when it is completely dark, mainly near the ground in the vegetation, between the branches of trees in the forest or in rows of trees or thick hedges. The flight height can range from 0.5 meters above the ground to the crown of large trees. During its whirring flight, characterized by frequent changes of direction, this bat prey on small insects (less than 17 millimeters in body size) mainly from the groups of beetles , flies and moths . In contrast to the great horseshoe bat, it does not hunt from a vantage point. When reading the prey from the vegetation, the animals can shake in the air.
Hazard and protection
Although in parts of its distribution area, especially in Central Europe, the population of the formerly common lesser horseshoe bat has been declining since the middle of the 20th century, the IUCN classifies the species as "least concern" due to its large distribution area. The reasons for the population decline include the use of pesticides in agriculture and the loss of quarters (e.g. as a result of the sealing of buildings).
Legal protection status (selection)
- Fauna-Flora-Habitat-Guideline (FFH-RL): Appendices II and IV (special protection areas are to be designated / species to be strictly protected)
- Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG): strictly protected
National Red List classifications (selection)
- Red List of the Federal Republic of Germany: 1 - critically endangered
- (Regular evidence of propagation is still available selectively in Saxony, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Bavaria)
- (in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Baden-Württemberg and probably Hesse already "extinct or lost")
- Red list Austria: 3 - endangered
- Red list Switzerland: 1 - critically endangered
An alleged occurrence of the little horseshoe bat in the area of the world cultural heritage Dresden Elbe Valley led in 2007 to a three-month construction freeze for the Waldschlößchenbrücke in Dresden .
Philatelic
With the Inception August 1, 2019 which gave German Post AG in the series for the youth out a postage stamp with a nominal value of 80 + 30 Euro cents with the image of the small horseshoe bat. The design comes from the graphic artist Thomas Serres from Hattingen .
literature
- Fabio Bontadina, Therese Hotz, Kathi Maerki: The little horseshoe bat on the upswing. Causes of the threat, habitat requirements and promotion of a bat species. 1st edition. Haupt-Verlag, Bern 2006, ISBN 978-3-258-07088-9 .
- Martin Görner, Hans Hackethal: Mammals of Europe. Licensed edition dtv / Ferdinand Enke-Verlag, Stuttgart 1988. ISBN 3-423-03265-0 .
- Wilfried Schober, Eckhard Grimmberger: The bats of Europe - know, determine, protect. 2nd updated edition. Franckh-Kosmos-Verlags-GmbH, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07597-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Klaus Richarz. Observe, recognize and protect bats. Franckh-Kosmos , Stuttgart 2004, p. 102 ISBN 978-3-440-09691-8
- ↑ Free State of Saxony, State Office for Environment and Geology: Small horseshoe bat
- ↑ Rhinolophus hipposideros in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.2. Listed by: Jacobs et al., 2008. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
- ↑ Administrative court stops the construction of the Waldschlößchenbrücke ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Sächsische Zeitung, August 9, 2007
- ↑ Waldschlößchenbrücke may be built ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Sächsische Zeitung, November 14, 2007
Web links
- Rhinolophus hipposideros inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014.2. Posted by: Jacobs et al. , 2008. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
- Photos on www.naturlichter.de