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

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 els ...

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, af ...

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 ...

. This species was discovered in 2002 in the caves of central Sardinia, the

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

being a cave in Lanaitto's Valley in the Oliena District. It appears to be closely related to '' Plecotus auritus'' 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 gre ...

''. It was identified as a new species by a study clearly showing divergence from other ''

Plecotus ''Plecotus'' is a genus of Vespertilionidae, vesper bat, commonly called long-eared bats. They are found throughout Eurasia and North Africa, northern Africa. Many species in the genus have only been described and recognized in recent years. Spe ...

'' 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 riboso ...

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 d ...

in males and the short, Y-shaped penile bone.

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 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 natur ...

lists it as being a "

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulne ...

". 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 8500 years ago.

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