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Arabian Barbastelle

Barbastella leucomelas

French: Barbastelle du Sinai / German: Arabische Mopsfledermaus / Spanish: Barbastela arabica

Taxonomy. Vespertilio leucomelas Cretzschmar, 1826,

Sinai, Egypt.

See B. darjelingensis . Monotypic.

Distribution. Egypt (Sinai) and Eritrea.

Descriptive notes. Head-body c. 50 mm, tail 19-20 mm, ear 12-15 mm, hindfoot 6-7 mm, forearm 38- 7-45 mm; weight c.9- 5 g. Dorsal fur is silky and blackish, brownish, or grayish, usually with golden hair tips, giving a frosted appearance; ventral fur is slightly lighter or whitish. Ears broad, squarish, short, andjoined across forehead; tragus pointed, triangular, one-half of ear height, covered by fine hairs, and without rounded lobe on outer lower margin present in the Western Barbastelle ( B. barbastellus). Muzzle short and broad, surrounded by large glandular mass, densely haired, extending to upperlip, behind nostril pad. Wings usually pale brown, broad, and attached at base of first toe; calcar slender with small keel. Claw small and slender. Baculum wider than in the Western Barbastelle, with lanceolate shape in dorsal view. Skull rather long with rounded braincase; zygomatic arch weak and slender, without marked dorsal curvature; lambdoid crest weakly developed. P? is almost completely hidden along tooth row.

Habitat. Probably deserts and mountains. Has been found foraging in riparian forests.

Food and Feeding. Feeds on moths and ants.

Breeding. Maternity colonies are usually small, containing up to c¢.10 females. The Arabian Barbastelle can give birth to twins.

Activity patterns. Thought to emerge late at night, but foraging patterns unknown. The species roosts in caves, mines, tunnels, rock crevices, or hollow trees, or under bark. Echolocation is similar to that of other barbastelle bats, which alternate two signal types, one with a convex frequency, followed by a concave pulse at a different frequency. Details from Sinai Peninsula were: (type A calls, short FM signals) start frequencies 35-9-41-9 kHz, frequencies of maximum energy 32:4-37-2 kHz, end frequencies 25-1-31-5 kHz, and durations 2-1-4-4 milliseconds; (type B calls, convex frequency-time course) start frequencies 43-7-46-9 kHz, frequencies of maximum energy 38-2-45-1 kHz, end frequencies 25-9-40-7 kHz, and durations 4-18-8 milliseconds.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Thought to be solitary. Males and females seem to roost separately; small clusters are formed only in the breeding season.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Recent taxonomic changes mean the species has a much more restricted range;its status requires reassessment.

Bibliography. Benda & Mlikovsky (2008), Benda, Dietz et al. (2008), Dietz & Kiefer (2016), Kruskop (2015), Monadjem, Tsytsulina et al. (2017), Simmons (2005), Zhang Jinshuo et al. (2007).