20.

Crete Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus creticus

French: Pipistrelle de Crete / German: Kreta-Zwergfledermaus / Spanish: Pipistrela de Creta

Taxonomy. Pipustrellus hanaki creticus Benda in Benda et al, 2009,

“ Greece, Crete, Rouva oak forest; a pasture with creek at the Agiou Ioanni chapel, Prefecture of Irakleio [= Heraklion]; 35° 11’ N, 24° 55’ E, 940 m asl.”

Pipistrellus creticus was originally described as a subspecies of P. hanaki; however, it was found to be sister to P. pygmaeus and is now recognized as a distinct species. Nevertheless, earlier studies determined that P. creticus and P. hanaki were sister species, but this was notstatistically supported and only cytochrome-b data were used. Monotypic.

Distribution. Crete.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 37-43 mm,tail 34-37 mm, ear 11-3-12-7 mm, forearm 29-30-3 mm; weight 3-3-3-9 g. The Crete Pipistrelle is externally similar to Hanak’s Pipistrelle ( P. hanaki) but significantly smaller in body and skull sizes. Dorsal pelage is rusty brown (darkest along back and top of head and becoming lighter along sides); ventral pelage is paler brown; and face, wing membranes, ears, and tragus are dark brown, being slightly paler around eyes and bases of ears. Colors are more vibrant in reproductive condition, especially around face and behind ears, which are more reddish. Ears are rounded at tops, and tragus has rounded tip and curves forward near top. Uropatagium stretches from calcar at ankles to tail tip (although tail extends c.0-5— 1 mm beyond uropatagium) and is the same color as wing membranes. Glans penis is simple and has more or less obvious pale medialstripe dorsally and foreskin that is covered in grayish brown hairs. Skull is clearly very small, and braincase is relatively broad and high compared with that of Hanak’s Pipistrelle, also having shorter and narrow rostrum on average; tooth row is shorter than in Hanak’s Pipistrelle.

Habitat. Mediterranean woodland dominated by Quercus (Fagaceae) and Cupressus (Cupressaceae) from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 940 m. Crete Pipistrelles have also been found in sweet chestnut ( Castanea sativa, Fagaceae) plantations.

Food and Feeding. Crete Pipistrelles are insectivorous, probably feeding by aerialhawking in open areas. Feces of eight individuals (55 pellets) were dominated by Brachycera, Auchenorrhyncha, and Lepidoptera and had smaller amounts of Hymenoptera ( Formicoidea and Ichneumonoidea), Nematocera ( Culicidae, Chironomidae), and Coleoptera .

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Crete Pipistrelle is nocturnal. Foraging call shape is FM-QCEF. Start frequency averages 59-5 kHz (46-2-101-1 kHz), end frequency 48-8 kHz (43-6 55-2 kHz), and pulse duration 4-3 milliseconds (1-5-8-6 milliseconds). Two types of social calls have also been recorded: A type (peak frequency of ¢.27-7 kHz and duration of 19-9 milliseconds) and B type (peak frequency of ¢.20-9 kHz and duration of 24-8 milliseconds). B type calls were more prevalent in July-October; A type calls decreased in use from July to November.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. Taxonomic status of the Crete Pipistrelle was only recently confirmed as distinct. It is common on Crete but only found there, which might indicate some need for protection. Additional research is needed to clarify its conservation status.

Bibliography. Benda, Georgiakakis et al. (2008), Benda, Spitzenberger et al. (2014), Evin et al. (2011), Georgiakakis & Russo (2012), Zdarska (2013).