The Sardinian long-eared bat (''Plecotus sardus'') is a critically-endangered species of

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). 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 birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. 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 The Alpine long-eared bat or mountain long-eared bat (''Plecotus macrobullaris'') is a species of long-eared bat. It was originally described from Switzerland and Austria as a species intermediate between the brown long-eared bat and the grey ...

''. 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 Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family ...

'' 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 ribosomal ...

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 (: patagia) is a membranous body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift when gliding or flying. The structure is found in extant and extinct groups of flying and gliding animals including bats, theropod dinosaurs (including ...

. 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 (; : penises or penes) is a sex organ through which male and hermaphrodite animals expel semen during copulation (zoology), copulation, and through which male placental mammals and marsupials also Urination, urinate. The term ''pen ...

in males and the short, Y-shaped

penile bone The baculum (: bacula), also known as the penis bone, penile bone, ''os penis'', ''os genitale'', or ''os priapi'', is a bone in the penis of many placental mammals. It is not present in humans, but is present in the penises of some primates, ...

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; ) is a national park on the east coast of Sardinia. Wildlife in the park includes the '' Felis lybica sarda ''(also known as Sardinian wildcat), the mouflon ...

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) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

lists it as being a "

critically endangered species An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of the ...

". This bat is the sole surviving endemic mammal found on the Island of Sardinia, the others all having become extinct since the arrival of humans some 8,500 years ago. Due to its uniqueness and restricted range ''P. sardus'' requires a very specific management strategy for its protection to be successful.

References

External links

Sardegna Foreste
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sardinian Long-Eared Bat Plecotus Bats of Europe Fauna of Sardinia Endemic fauna of Italy Critically endangered animals Critically endangered biota of Europe Mammals described in 2002