240.

Alpine Long-eared Bat

Plecotus macrobullaris

French: Oreillard alpin / German: Alpen-Langohr / Spanish: Orejudo alpino

Other common names: Mountain Long-eared Bat

Taxonomy. Plecotus auritus macrobullaris Kuzyakin, 1965,

near Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia, Russia.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Pyrenees, Alps, Balkans, Greece, Anatolia, Caucasus, SE Syria, and W Iran; also Crete and Corsica.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 46-55 mm, tail 41-53 mm, ear 34-38 mm, forearm 37-46 mm; weight 6-10 g. Separable from congeners by narrow triangular pad under lower lip. Dorsal fur is long and dense, brown to gray (hairs with dark or black bases); ventral fur grayish whitish, most strikingly around throat. Brownish mask covers face from mouth to posterior part of eyes. Tragusis fairly small and pale (5-7 mm wide). Wings brown but weakly pigmented, appearing translucent. Thumbsfairly long (b— 8 mm), with remarkably long, slender claws, as in the Brown Long-eared Bat ( P. auritus); feet fairly hairy. Rostrum robust. Dental formulais12/3,C1/1,P2/3,M 3/3 = 36.

Habitat. Various habitats from sea level to 2800 m; typically linked with high elevations, but preferences may vary locally. In some regions, typically forages in alpine grasslands and pastures at high elevations, but also found in lowlands. May select deciduous forests, but locally also favors woodland edges, rural areas, and meadows; recorded in shrubby oak, and beech and pine forests. In the Pyrenees it occurs in Pinus nigra (Pinaceae) forests, pre-alpine and alpine habitats, but seems to favor karstic areas. In contrast, in Italy and Croatia, it may forage in habitats with narrower spaces.

Food and Feeding. Not well known, but seems to feed mostly (c.98%) on Lepidoptera (moths with wingspan of ¢.37- 5 mm), especially noctuids; occasionally some Diptera and Coleoptera . It forages in open areas above the tree line at elevations of 1500-2500 m. No prey typical from forest areas has been identified in feces. Identified prey species occupy diverse elevational ranges (subalpine, orophilous-alpine, and alpine) suggesting that the bat might commute altitudinally every night to forage; appears to hunt more intensively in subalpine and orophilous meadows. Probably hunts by both gleaning and aerial-hawking.

Breeding. Maternity colonies usually comprise a few tens of females (under 50), which roost in old houses or attics of churches at montane elevations, although they usually occur at lower elevations than those with nulliparous females. Pregnant and lactating females have high fidelity to their roosts, while males are very labile.

Activity patterns. Can be found roosting under rocks at ground level or in talus slopes. In Alpsit has almost always been found in buildings, but in Pyrenees it tends to roost in crevices, scree (under stones), and buildings, always at high elevations (1450-2430 m); males were more often found in scree deposits than females. Echolocation is very similar to that of the Brown Long-eared Bat and the Gray Long-eared Bat ( P. austriacus). Like other Plecotus, it uses multiharmonic, downward FM signals consisting mostly of the first and the lower part of the second harmonic. Signal structure depends on distance to background. Shortest signals (0-8 milliseconds) are usually recorded close to background; first harmonic begins at c.46 kHz and ends at ¢.23 kHz. Longest signals (up to 7-3 milliseconds) are recorded above meadows, far from background targets; these signals, which are more shallowly modulated, start at ¢.42 kHz and end at c.15 kHz. The second harmonic is occasionally lacking, and is often emitted only every second or third wingbeat cycle. In short signals (up to 4 milliseconds), first and second harmonics do not overlap, whereas overlap is prominent in longer signals.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No movements reported. The species is known to shift roosts between summer and winter, but no hibernation sites are known.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Seems to be generally rare, with populations rather scattered, mainly at high elevations. It is unknown whether populations from distant mountains are genetically isolated.

Bibliography. Alberdi, Aihartza et al. (2015), Alberdi, Aizpurua et al. (2014, 2016), Alberdi, Garin et al. (2012, 2013), Arribas (2009), Budinskiet al. (2016), Dietrich et al. (2006), Dietz & Kiefer (2016), Garin et al. (2003), Juste et al. (2004), Kiefer & Veith (2001), Kiefer et al. (2002), Pacifici et al. (2013), Pavlini¢ & Tvrtkovic (2004), Piraccini (2016d), Preatoni et al. (2011), Rutishauser et al. (2012), Spitzenberger (2006), Spitzenberger, Haring & Tvrtkovi¢ (2002), Spitzenberger, Pidlek & Haring (2001), Spitzenberger, Strelkov & Haring (2003), Trizio et al. (2005).