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A male greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferruequinum) was netted at the entrance to the abandoned Mauritius mine (50°23'32"N, 12°50'01"E; 1018 m a. s. l.) in the Krušné Hory Mts (Ore Mountains) on 2 September 2023. This is the first record of this species in north-western Bohemia and first record outside the hibernation period for the whole Bohemia. The site is situated beyond the northern limits of the continuous distribution range of the species. Mist netting campaigns during the swarming period have been taking place at the site regularly since 2005 (except 2006 and 2022) and Rhinolophus ferruequinum was never recorded there before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using phototrapping, we compared hibernation phenologies and winter activities displayed by four Myotis species (M. emarginatus, M. daubentonii, M. bechsteinii and M. nattereri) hibernating in Hermann's Cave in the winter 2018/2019. These congeneric species were deemed to be comparable as they are similar in body mass and geographic distribution. The cave is located in the submontane zone of the Eastern Alps in Kirchberg am Wechsel, Lower Austria (47°37'N, 15°58'E, 670 m a. s. l.). From 1 September 2018 to 30 April 2019, we phototrapped a total of 67,183 emerging bats. These included, besides photos of other species, photos of 15,250 Myotis nattereri, 2,432 M. bechsteinii, 1,327 M. emarginatus, and 1,112 M. daubentonii individuals. Ambient temperature was measured hourly by a logger positioned at the cave entrance. Despite exposure to the same environmental conditions, the four species exhibited notable differences in their hibernation behaviour. The length of hibernation ranged from 19.5% of the year (M. nattereri) to 56% of the year (M. emarginatus), hibernation onset varied between 23 September (M. emarginatus, M. daubentonii) and 8 December (M. nattereri), and hibernation termination between 16 February (M. nattereri) and 15 April (M. emarginatus). Ambient temperature at the onset of hibernation ranged between 4.5 °C (M. nattereri) and >10 °C (in the other species). Ambient temperature at termination was higher than 10 °C only in M. bechsteinii. Winter activity expressed by post-arousal emergence flights during the species-specific hibernation period occurred in all months and was performed by all species. Over the total hibernation period (205 days), 179 post-arousal emergence flights were registered. The lowest number of flights was registered in January. The highest numbers in relation to the duration of stay in the cave were performed by M. nattereri and M. emarginatus, the lowest activity outside the cave was exhibited by M. daubentonii and M. bechsteinii. Diurnal activity was generally infrequent. Most flights occurred at Ta>0 °C and numbers peaked at temperatures >6 °C. However, all species performed flights also at Ta between -4.5 and 0 °C. The temperature preference of M. nattereri differed distinctly from that of the other species. Most emergence flights of this species occurred at Ta between -5 °C and 6 °C. Myotis emarginatus, M. daubentonii and M. bechsteinii bats used ambient temperatures above 6 °C which is the low threshold for insect flights probably to hunt flying insects at the beginning and end of the hibernation periods. Flights performed by M. emarginatus around sunset seemed to have been used for light sampling. With the exceptions of M. nattereri and M. emarginatus, most emergence flights were carried out by only one individual of a particular species per bat day. On 8 October, four M. emarginatus emerged synchronously within one minute. No interspecific synchronous post-arousal flights were observed. Factors that could determine the hibernation behaviour such as the species origin, food and feeding strategies, circannual and circadian rhythms and ambient temperature are thoroughly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of urbanisation on size and fat stores in bats has been poorly studied. We compare morphometric data in bats from two areas in the West Midlands, UK: one predominantly agricultural and one built-up. We examined forearm length and fat stores in 1,102 bats of five species (Myotis daubentonii, M. nattereri, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, P. pygmaeus, Plecotus auritus). All except M. daubentonii were significantly larger in the urban area; fat stores were greater in rural M. nattereri and P. auritus, and in urban M. daubentonii and P. pygmaeus. For P. auritus, the differences were only significant in males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A list of 58 specimens of bats belonging to 16 species of six families originating from Benin, housed in the collection of the National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic, is presented in a systematic review. The specimens represent 24 new records (species vs. locality) of bats from Benin. The species lists are complemented by comments on distribution and morphometric data. The collection contains three species new for the Beninese fauna, Hipposideros jonesi, H. abae, and H. cf. lamottei, and the bat fauna of Benin now comprises 55 species in total. Scotophilus nigrita is documented from Benin for the second time, and for the first time from a specific record site in this country. Besides the majority of common bat species, considering their available records in Benin, the collection includes several other species rather uncommon in the country, such as Rhinolophus fumigatus, Hipposideros cf. ruber, Pseudoromicia rendalli, or Scotophilus livingstonii. In two of the latter group of species, the molecular genetic analysis revealed new extents of distribution for particular mitochondrial lineages in Benin, like the D lineage of H. cf. ruber or S. livingstonii s.str. As complete as possible check-list of the Beninese bat fauna comprising all known record localities is included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first record of Nyctalus leisleri in Kosovo is here described. The record site is located at Hanroc village (42°37'N, 21°17'E; 667 m a. s. l.), approximately 10 km east/southeast of the capital city of Prishtinë. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents results of a first attempt to survey bats of the Alatish National Park (northwestern Ethiopia). Twenty-one bat species belonging to eight families and twelve genera were documented for the first time in the Park, at least two bat species (Hipposideros abae, Pipistrellus nanulus) were found new for the fauna of Ethiopia. The Alatish National Park is an area of high conservation value due to its high bat species diversity and a complex structure of the fauna including elements with various zoogeographic affinities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]