The Sardinian long-eared bat (''Plecotus sardus'') 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 ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
This species was discovered in 2002 in the caves of central Sardinia, the
type locality being a cave in Lanaitto's Valley in the
Oliena District.
It appears to be closely related to ''
Plecotus auritus
''Plecotus'' is a genus of vesper bat, commonly called long-eared bats. They are found throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Many species in the genus have only been described and recognized in recent years.
Species
Genus ''Plecotus'' – lon ...
'' and ''
Plecotus macrobullaris''.
[ It was identified as a new species by a study clearly showing divergence from other '']Plecotus
''Plecotus'' is a genus of vesper bat, commonly called long-eared bats. They are found throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Many species in the genus have only been described and recognized in recent years.
Species
Genus ''Plecotus'' – lon ...
'' species in its mitochondrial 16S rRNA
Ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) is a type of non-coding RNA which is the primary component of ribosomes, essential to all cells. rRNA is a ribozyme which carries out protein synthesis in ribosomes. Ribosomal RNA is transcribed from ribosoma ...
gene.
Description
''P. sardus'' is a small bat with a head-and-body length of about , ears of about and a weight of up to . The snout is cone-shaped with a fleshy knob on the chin. The ears are oval and joined above the forehead by a fine membrane. The tragus is tapered with a blunt tip and is half as long as the ear. The wing membranes are attached to the rear part of the base of the fifth toe. The tail is long and extends a short way beyond the interfemoral membrane
The patagium (plural: patagia) is a membranous body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift when gliding or flight. The structure is found in extant and extinct groups of flying and gliding animals including bats, birds, some dromaeosaurs ...
. The fur is fine, long and woolly and is greyish-brown dorsally and whitish or pale brown ventrally. The wing membranes are brown. Two features which distinguish this bat from related species are the cylindrical penis
A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males do n ...
in males and the short, Y-shaped penile bone
The baculum (also penis bone, penile bone, or ''os penis'', ''os genitale'' or ''os priapi'') is a bone found in the penis of many placental mammals. It is absent from the human penis, but present in the penises of some primates, such as the ...
.[
]
Status
The Sardinian long-eared bat was first identified in 2002 and is only known from three caves where it roosts. Two of these are in the Gennargentu National Park
The Gennargentu National Park (also National Park of the Bay of Orosei and Gennargentu; it, Parco Nazionale del Golfo di Orosei e del Gennargentu) is a national park on the east coast of Sardinia.
Wildlife in the park includes the '' Felis lybi ...
and one near the coast. It hunts in forests and the threats it faces include habitat loss and disturbance by tourism. With a small total population and a decreasing population trend, the International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
lists it as being a "vulnerable species
A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...
".
References
*
External links
Sardegna Foreste
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sardinian Long-Eared Bat
Plecotus
Bats of Europe
Fauna of Sardinia
Endemic fauna of Italy
Vulnerable animals
Vulnerable biota of Europe
Mammals described in 2002