233.

Ognev’s Long-eared Bat

Plecotus ognevi

French: Oreillard d'Ognev / German: Ognev-Langohr / Spanish: Orejudo de Ognev

Taxonomy. Plecotus auritus ognevi Kishida, 1927,

Sakhalin, Russia.

Previously considered a race of P. auritus .

Monotypic.

Distribution. Extreme E Kazakhstan and C Asian mountains E through Mongolia and NE China to Korea and Russian Far East, including Sakhalin I.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 48-50 mm, tail 44-46 mm, ear 31-33 mm, hindfoot c. 8 mm, forearm 40-42 mm; weight 7-9 g. Similar to the Brown Long-eared Bat ( P. auritus) but forearm is slightly larger, whereas it is shorter than in the Japanese Long-eared Bat ( P. sacrimontis) and Kozlov’s Long-eared Bat ( P kozlovi). Fur almost woolly, dark brown dorsally and pale brown to white ventrally (hairs bicolored, with dark bases and white tips); some individuals have some pale hairs surrounding neck and throat. Toes are brown and generally covered by long dense hair. Face quite dark, naked from nose to muzzle and eyes. Membranes usually translucent and delicate. Tragus 13-15 mm long. Tibia 18-20 mm long. Thumbs and claws remarkably long. Skull medium-sized, smaller in males than in females, very similar in structure to Strelkov’s Long-eared Bat ( P. strelkovi); there is a diagnostic pronounced concavity in dorsal profile of anterior part of skull. Dental formula is 12/3, C1/1,P 2/3, M 3/3 (x2) = 36. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 32 and FNa = 50.

Habitat. Typical foraging habitat includes forest-steppe,taiga, and mountain and temperate mixed deciduous forest, always in highlands; also river catchment areas and riparian vegetation.

Food and Feeding. Diet is mostly moths ( Lepidoptera) and mosquitoes ( Diptera). Forages both by aerial-hawking and by gleaning.

Breeding. Breeds in small colonies of a maximum of few tens of individuals, roosting in crevices of old trees. A maternity colony was found in a cave near Beijing, China.

Activity patterns. Recorded hibernating in a cave in the Primorsky Krai, Russia.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Datzmann et al. (2012), Dorjderem (2004), Kartavtseva et al. (2014), Kruskop et al. (2012), Nyambayar et al. (2010), Orlova et al. (2016), Scheffler et al. (2012), Sokolov & Orlov (1980), Spitzenberger et al. (2006), Stubbe, Ariunbold, Buuveibaatar, Dorjderem, Monkhzul, Otgonbaatar & Tsogbadrakh (2008a), Tiunov (2016).