231.

Turkmen Long-eared Bat

Plecotus turkmenicus

French: Oreillard turkmene / German: Turkmenistan-Langohr / Spanish: Orejudo de Turkmenistan

Other common names: Turkmenian Long-eared Bat

Taxonomy. Plecotus austriacus turkmenicus Strelkov, 1988,

Kurgankyr, Turkmenistan.

Previously considered a race of P. austriacus, but full species status is supported by genetic analyses. Monotypic.

Distribution. SW Kazakhstan, W Uzbekistan, and W Turkmenistan; possibly Mongolia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body ¢. 55 mm, tail ¢. 50 mm, hindfoot ¢. 10 mm, forearm c. 45 mm; weight c. 9 g. One of the largest Plecotus, it is clearly distinguished from congeners by rim of naked whitish skin on posterior part of dorsum. Dorsal fur (8:8-13- 2 mm long) is bright and pale, with distinctively tricolored hairs (from dark gray to white to gray or brownish); ventral fur (7-1-10- 1 mm long) bicolored, with dark bases and whitish or grayish tips. As in other long-eared bats, pelage is not dense, face is almost naked, and forehead is covered with short sparse fur; likewise, uropatagium is discreetly covered by tiny hairs, or naked. Face white, contrasting with broad, short, brown snout. Tragus ¢.22- 2 mm long, not pigmented, very large, and translucent. All membranes are semi-transparent and weakly pigmented gray. Thumbs long; toes covered with tiny white hairs; claws remarkably long and strongly curved as in the Brown Long-eared Bat ( P. auritus). Braincase relatively large, very distinct from other similar species; rostrum robust; condylo-basal length c. 17 mm; zygomatic bone seems robust; and bullae tend to be large. Molars are broad; C' is large; and I’ and premolars are minute.

Habitat. Dry areas: temperate desert and semi-desert.

Food and Feeding. Feeds mainly on medium-sized Noctuidae or Geometridae (Lepidoptera), but also takes small Lepidoptera and some insects with slightly harder exoskeletons (Heteroptera, Auchenorrhyncha), although it positively selects softer insects. It is an aerial-hawker, hunting in low to medium-high vegetation. It also captures other insects such as Neuroptera ( Hemerobiidae, Chrysopidae) and Heteroptera by gleaning.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Roosts in caves and wells.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. No information is available about population trends or status, in part due to the recent taxonomic changes.

Bibliography. Datzmann et al. (2012), Dolch et al. (2007), Lebedev et al. (2016), Simmons (2005), Spitzenberger et al. (2006).