Hanak's dwarf bat or Hanak's pipistrelle (''Pipistrellus hanaki'') is a species of

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

only found in Cyrenaica,

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

and Crete,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Taxonomy

''Pipistrellus hanaki'' was described as a new species in 2004. Its description was the result of a taxonomic split of the

common pipistrelle The common pipistrelle (''Pipistrellus pipistrellus'') is a small pipistrelle microbat whose very large range extends across most of Europe, North Africa, South Asia, and may extend into Korea. It is one of the most common bat species in the Brit ...

. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

was collected in Cyrenaica, which is in eastern

. The

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

for the species name "''hanaki''" is Czech Republic scientist Vladimír Hanák, for his significant contribution "to the knowledge of the Palaearctic bat fauna". Hanák was also the first to point out the difference of this taxon from other members of the common pipistrelle species complex.

Range and habitat

In Crete, Hanak's dwarf bat was recorded in mosaics of oak trees (mainly ''Quercus pubescens''), cypresses (''Cupressus sempervirens''), olive trees (''Olea europea''), carob trees (''Ceratonia siliqua'') and to a lesser extend other cultivated trees (including ''Ficus carica'' and ''Prunus spp.'').

Echolocation

This species uses the same range of frequencies as the common pipistrelle, but its specific social calls allow a clear separation from the other pipistrelle species.

Conservation

This species is protected in the European Union under the Habitats Directive, Annex IV. This species is also listed in the Berne Convention and is specifically targeted by the UNEP- EUROBATS convention.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2127214 Pipistrellus Bats of Europe Mammals described in 2004 Bats of Africa