52. Greater Horseshoe Bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774)

(IUCN Red List: LC)

Subspecies: R. f. ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774) .

Distribution: Common in the limestone caverns and other suitable retreats along the Euphrates Valley, in the wooden habitats in the northwestern and southwestern regions, and on mountains along the coast (Fig. 59).

Previous records: Qal’at Najim (Nostitz 1873), Katir Magara and ar-Raqqa (Ebenau 1996), Mount Hermon, Amwd, Latakia, Qal’at Salah ad-Din, ar-Rawda near Rabi’ah, es- Salihiyyeh, Busra, Qal’at Sheizar, Qal’at Najim, Qal’at Samaan, Qatura, Qal’at Al-Hosson, Qal’at Al-Marqab, Qal’at Nimrud, Gamla (Benda et al. 2006), Qal’at Sama’an, Qal’at Salah ad-Din, and Basofan (Shehab et al. 2007), and Fajlit and az-Zahabiyah (Al-Ramadan et al. 2020).

Recent record: ash-Sheikh Badr and Jurd Hurayra (2021), Wadi aj-Jouz (2022).

Remarks: The Syrian populations of R. ferrumequinum show a remarkable metric variability (large-sized bats in the Mediterranean regions, small-sized in the arid habitats of Mesopotamia, intermediate in size in the transient regions, which were primarily interpreted as distinct taxa). Two subspecies were reported from Syria: large-sized R. f. ferrumequinum and small-sized R. f. irani Cheesman, 1921 (cf. Benda et al. 2006). However, molecular genetic analyses did not support any infraspecific division of the west-Palaearctic populations of R. ferrumequinum (Flanders et al. 2009; Benda & Vallo 2012; Benda et al. 2012).