| Isabelline Serotine bat | |
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| Species: | E. isabellinus
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| Binomial name | |
| Eptesicus isabellinus (Temminck, 1840)
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| Trinomial name | |
| Eptesicus serotinus isabellinus (Temminck, 1840)
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| Global range of E. isabellinus (red) | |
The isabelline serotine bat (Eptesicus isabellinus) is a species of bat of the Vespertilionidae family.
A fairly large European bat with quite large ears. It has a wingspan of around 37 cm (15 in) and often hunts in woodland. It sometimes roosts in buildings, hanging upside down, in small groups or individually.
Description edit
E. isabellinus is a large bat similar to the Serotine bat but with noticeably lighter colouration on its fur, ears and snout. Its fur is solid-coloured with a pale, sometimes blondish, back and lighter belly. The young have greyer fur. Its ears are triangular in shape with a linear rounded tragus. Its wing membranes are attached to the base of the feet. They measure between 46–55 mm (1.8–2.2 in) and weighing between 17–28 g (0.60–0.99 oz). Females are larger than males. It has a dental formula of 2.1.1.33.1.2.3.[2]
Geographic range edit
The geographical distribution of E. isabellinus has been found to be in the Maghreb region in northwest Africa, limited to the north of the Sahara, from Morocco to Libya. More recently it has been discovered that southern Iberia is also within its geographical range and in Spain occupies the whole region of Andalusia and at least the south of Extremadura and Castile-La Mancha. The southernmost records lie in the Atlas Mountains and has also been found in the Canary Islands where it's been located once in Lanzarote, but this could be accidental.[3][2] The species is also present in Gibraltar with the first specimen having been captured during a collaborative netting session between the Gibraltar Museum Caving Unit, the Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society and bat workers from the United Kingdom at the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens in 2013.[4]
Habitat edit
E. isabellinus inhabits open cultural landscape and Mediterranean woodlands from southern Iberian to North African coasts as well as all transitional habitats to the borders of the Sahara. It favours semi-desert habitats with nearby bodies of water in the lowlands and oases which tend to be more densely vegetated.[5] It has also been found at an altitude of 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) at Sierra de las Nieves in Málaga, Spain.[2]
Roosts edit
Few roosts of E. isabellinus have been found with most finds consisting of individuals in buildings, rock crevices, caves or in cracks of ruins and Roman aqueducts. A nursery of 30 or more bats was discovered in a hollow date palm in Algeria. It his, however, presumed that they prefer roosting in rock crevices.[5][2]
Echolocation edit
The frequencies used by this bat species for echolocation lie between 25-55 kHz, have most energy at 31 kHz and have an average duration of 8.8 ms.[6][7]
Threats edit
The inappropriate sealing of expansion joints of buildings and infrastructures used by the bats as shelter are leading to the decline of colonies. Bat populations in some countries are being boosted by the provision of adequate cavities within public works (bridges, viaducts, etc.).
Pathologies edit
E. isabellinus is the main carrier, in its saliva, of a rabies virus called EBL1 (European bat lyssavirus). In virulent infectious outbreaks, mortality rates may be increased by 30% due to the presence of the disease. Cases of disease transmission of rabies to mammals other than bats, including humans, are very rare; nevertheless, handling of this species should be avoided.
References edit
- ^ Hutson, A.M., Spitzenberger, F., Aulagneir, S., Alcaldé, J.T., Csorba, G., Bumrungsri, S., Francis, C., Bates, P., Gumal, M., Kingston, T., & Benda, P. (2008). "Eptesicus isabellinus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d Ibáñez, Carlos. "Eptesicus isabellinus - Atlas y Libro Rojo de los Mamíferos Terrestres de España" (PDF). Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
- ^ Dietz, von Helversen & Nill 2009, p. 332.
- ^ "A new species of bat for Gibraltar" (PDF). Government of Gibraltar - Ministry of Health & Environment. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ a b Dietz, von Helversen & Nill 2009, p. 333.
- ^ Parsons, S. (2000). "Acoustic identification of twelve species of echolocating bat by discriminant function analysis and artificial neural networks". J Exp Biol. 203: 2641–2656.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Obrist, M.K. (2004). "Variability in echolocation call design of 26 Swiss bat species: Consequences, limits and options for automated field identification with a synergic pattern recognition approach". Mammalia. 68 (4): 307–32.
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Bibliography edit
- Dietz, Christian; von Helversen, Otto; Nill, Dietmar (15 September 2009). Bats of Britain, Europe and Northwest Africa. London: A & C Black. ISBN 978-1-4081-0531-3.
[Category:Mammals of Europe]] [Category:Mammals of Gibraltar]] [Category:Mammals of Africa]] [Category:Mammals of Spain]] [Category:Eptesicus]]