24.

Kuhl’s Pipistrelle

Pipistrellus kuhlii

French: Pipistrelle de Kuhl / German: WeiRrandfledermaus / Spanish: Pipistrela de borde claro

Other common names: Kuhl's Bat, Kuhl’s Pipistrelle Bat, Great Pipistrelle, White Stripe Bat

Taxonomy. Vespertilio kuhlii Natterer in Kuhl, 1817,

Trieste, Italy.

Pipistrellus desert: Thomas, 1902 was recognized as a synonym by O. Thomas in 1902, and individuals from sub-Saharan Africa are considered to belong to P. hesperidus . Nevertheless, phylogenetic relationships among these taxa need additional research. Populations of P. kuhlii in the Canary Islands might also represent P. hesperidus, and are tentatively included underlatter species here. Although P. maderensis is currently considered a distinct species, genetic data have shown that it is imbedded in P. kuhlii . This suggests that either P. maderensis is best included under P. kuhlii or P. kuhlii represents multiple species. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

P.k.kuhliiNatterer,1817—C&SEurope,fromNFranceandIberianPeninsulaEtotheBalkans,limitinginNinSGermany,SCzechRepublic,Austria,andSlovakia;alsoonlargeMediterraneanIs.

P.k.tkhwaniusCheesman&Hinton,1924—EAsiainSyria,Lebanon,Israel,Jordan,Iraq,Iran,andArabianPeninsula.

P.k.lepidusBlyth,1845—SPoland,extremeESlovakia,Romania,Ukraine,WRussia,WKazakhstan,Caucasus,Anatolia,Uzbekistan,Turkmenistan,Afghanistan,Pakistan,andIndia.

P. k. marginatus Cretzschmar, 1830 — N Africa from Morocco E to Egypt.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 40-55 mm, tail 30-45 mm, ear 12-13 mm, hindfoot 6-8 mm, forearm 30-3-37-4 mm; weight 5-10 g. Kuhl’s Pipistrelle has very variable fur color from dark to pale brown, rusty brown, or yellowish, with no sexual dimorphism. Contrast between dorsum and venter is not very clear, and although dorsal hair is often beige to ocher, ventral hair tends to be whitish or pale yellowish. Skin varies from dark brown to pale or reddish. Commonly, white stripe of different widths can be found at free edge of wing and tail membranes. In eastern forms,this line tends to be wider and, to some extent, diffuse. It is clearly different in color than Savi’s Pipistrelle ( Hypsugo savii) and bigger than other African pipistrelle species such as the Dusky Pipistrelle ( P. hesperidus). Wings are blackish or dark brown and broad (wingspan 210-230 mm), perfectly adapted to its erratic and agile flight in semi-open spaces. Penisis spear-shaped. Ears are short and triangular, with five small wrinkles protecting an inwardly curved and rounded tragus. Wing venation pattern is similar to that of the Common Pipistrelle ( P. pipistrellus) but clearly distinct from those of Nathusius’s Pipistrelle ( P. nathusii) and the Soprano Pipistrelle ( P. pygmaeus). Baculum of Kuhl’s Pipistrelle is strongly curved, with bifurcations at tip and base. Skull is moderately robust compared with African pipistrelles; greatest skull lengths are 13-9-14 mm, condylo-basal length is c.13-2 mm, and zygomatic breadth is ¢. 9 mm; rostrum is relatively long; forehead profile is moderately to weakly concave; dorsal margin of orbit is not inflated (unlike in the Dusky Pipistrelle); I* is long and clearly unicuspid, which greatly helps with identification in field in Europe, especially to distinguish Kuhl’s Pipistrelle from Nathusius’s Pipistrelle; I’ is very small and ¢.50% the height of I; P? is extremely small and hardly visible above gum, usually displaced lingually; C' and P* are in contact; and lower molars are nyctalodont. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 44, FNa = 50, and FN = 54.

Habitat. Agricultural land and urban areas but also woodland edges, riparian forests, deserts and semi-deserts, oases, shrublands, alpine grasslands, and pastures from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 2000 m (usually below 1000 m). Kuhl’s Pipistrelle seems to avoid interiors of large continuous forests.

Food and Feeding. Kuhl’s Pipistrelle feeds on small flying insects such as Diptera (nonbiting midges and mosquitoes), Psocoptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Trichoptera, Homoptera, and Neuroptera . It is an aerial hawker, capturing insects in flight at 1-20 m aboveground.

Breeding. Maternity colonies of Kuhl’s Pipistrelles can have tens to several hundred individuals (rarely exceed 200 individuals), almost all of them adult females and their young. These colonies are usually found in crevices or large empty cavities in buildings, bat boxes or hollow trees, andcliffs. In urban areas, nursery colonies are commonly found in window blinds, roll-down shutter boxes or roofing tiles, often causing some disturbances to the buildings’ owners due to strong smell and noise. Adult females start to congregate in mid-March, and they remain together until late August. They give birth, mostly to twins, from mid-June to July. Young females become reproductively active the first autumn of their life. During the mating period, a kind of swarming behavior occurs, and males try to attract females by displaying with flight displays or social calls from August to early November. Maximum longevity is less than eight years.

Activity patterns. Flight of Kuhl’s Pipistrelle is slow, erratic, unpredictable but rather agile, and relatively maneuverable in cluttered spaces. Commuting flightis significant ly faster than foraging flight (9-3 m/s vs. 4-7 m/s). In cities, Kuhl’s Pipistrelle emerges quite early (although later than the Common Pipistrelle), a little before sunset, and can be observed foraging around streetlamps or following linear structures, alone or in groups. It has bimodal activity, with an activity peak during the first hours after sunset and a second activity peak before dawn. Although not many data are available during hibernation, they have been found hibernating in rock crevices, expansion joints, cellars, bridges, and buildings in the Balkans. Hibernation in some Mediterranean countries is commonly interrupted because they tend to forage during mild winter days. In some cases, they use the same roosts all year. Echolocation calls have typical pipistrelle-like pulses, with peak frequencies of c.34—41 kHz, sometimes overlapping with Savi’s Pipistrelle in the lowest frequencies and the Common Pipistrelle in the highest. Shape and frequency of calls are highly variable depending on environment, behavior, and weather conditions. Pulses are relatively long and can reach durations of up to 14 milliseconds. During acoustic surveys, Kuhl’s Pipistrelle can only be separated from Nathusius’s Pipistrelle using its social calls, which consist of two distinct quick FM pulses of c.14-16 kHz, but even this is sometimes problematic.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Kuhl’s Pipistrelle is not considered migratory but strictly sedentary. It probably moves some tens of kilometers between maternity, swarming, and hibernation locations. Short and medium distance movements and colonization of surrounding habitats can explain its expansive distribution. Widespread nature of Kuhl’s Pipistrelle across Europe and beyond seems to have been facilitated by the network of waterways and other landscape migration routes. During the maternity period, males and females roost separately. Sex ratio is usually 1:1. Maternity colonies are sometimes mixed colonies with other bat species such as the Common Pipistrelle or Savi’s Pipistrelle.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Kuhl’s Pipistrelle is considered one of the most adaptable bat species in Europe; it associates with humans, is widespread, and relatively abundant in most of its distribution. Its distribution seems to be expanding in the north and east. In some countries, such as Iran and the Caucasus region, it has been suggested that Kuhl’s Pipistrelles compete with and displace other sympatric species, such as the Common Pipistrelle and Savi’s Pipistrelle. The fact that Kuhl’s Pipistrelle is especially abundant in urban areas and villages can be explained by increased availability of roosts in roofs and wall crevices and insect availability around streetlamps. In fact, urban colonies have earlier parturition time and produced more young than those in rural areas. No major threats are recognized, but roost disturbance and direct persecution might affect local colonies.

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