Hypsugo Savii Research Articles

First record of Hypsugo savii (Chiroptera) in Slovakia

Hypsugo savii (Bonaparte, 1837) is a Palaearctic bat occurring from Canary Islands, NW Africa and S Europe to C Asia, Mongolia and N Japan. In Europe, it is widespread in Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean regions from Portugal, Spain and France to Switzerland, Austria and Hungary in the north and Crimea, Bulgaria and the southern Greek islands in the east. (HORACEK & BENDA, 2004; HORACEK et al., 2000; MASSON, 1999) A subadult male of Hypsugo savii was found in Bratislava in the administration building of regional court of justice on Drieňova street (48◦10.5′ N, 17◦9′ E) on 26 May 2005. The measurements of the bat were: forearm length 34.3 mm, body 45 mm, tail 35 mm, hind foot 8 mm, ear 13 mm, tragus 5 mm, tail extending beyond tail membrane by 4 mm and weight 5 g. Its pelage was black with golden tips of hairs on the dorsal side of the body and palegrey on the ventral side. Ears, face and wings membranes were black. It had typically right-angled bended penis with long black collateral hairs on its distal part. The bat was marked with a band (Museum Praha X 22802) and photographed. A sample of tissue was preserved in 96% ethanol for future DNA analysis. The bat was fed, given to drink and was released within the territory of Bratislava on 28 May 2005. The occurrence of H. savii in Slovakia was mentioned in a contribution to Slovak fauna (BABOR 1943), however, FERIANC (1946) referred to the fact that it was an incorrect and unsubstantiated information. The closest records to that presented in this paper came from Austria – Vienna, 50 km W (SPITZENBERGER, 1997) and Merkersdorf, 110 km NW (GAISLER & VLASIN, 2003) and from the Czech Republic – Žabcice, 105 km NNW (GAISLER, 2001) and Brno, 120 km NNW (GAISLER & VLASIN, 2003). More records of H. savii from Hungary – Budapest (BIHARI, in lit.), Eger (ESTOK, 1995) and Miskolc (DOBROSI, 1994) were only ca. 40 km far from Slovakia borders. The record of the bat in Bratislava corresponds to the other records from neighbouring countries from the last decade and to the assumption of some authors (e.g., DOBROSI, 1994; GAISLER & VLASIN, 2003) that this species is gradually spreading towards the North. According to these facts we expect other records of H. savii, especially in S Slovakia. Acknowledgements

A review of the genera Myotis, Ia, Pipistrellus, Hypsugo, and Arielulus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Myanmar (Burma), including three species new to the country

ABSTRACT Since 1999, the University of Yangon and the Harrison Institute have conducted a series of bat surveys in Myanmar. During this time, six species of vespertilionid bat have been collected that have not been recorded previously from the country. Two, Myotis horsfieldi and Myotis chinensis were published in 2001 and one, Kerivoula kachinensis, which is a new species to science, in 2004. The remaining three, Myotis mystacinus, Ia io and Pipistrellus pulveratus are included here for the first time. The record of M. mystacinus is the first authenticated one for South-East Asia. Since small vespertilionid bats are difficult to identify and are generally poorly understood, the paper includes a brief review of all 24 species of Myotis, Ia, Pipistrellus, Hypsugo, and Arielulus currently listed for Myanmar. Three of these, Myotis annectans, Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Hypsugo savii are removed from the faunal list for lack of supporting data or because of previous misidentifications. The taxon Pipistrellu...

Osservazioni in cattività sul ciclo stagionale del peso corporeo e sull'efficienza digestiva di Pipistrellus kuhlii e Hypsugo savii (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

Captivity observation on body weight cycle and digestive efficiency in Pipistrellus kuhlii and Hypsugo savii (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae). Many bat species of cold-temperate climate are subject to seasonal variation of temperature and food availabi- lity. Fat reserve during summer-autumn is therefore a physiological adaptation to spend the winter months by hibernating or to sustain migration. During a research on bats in urban areas, two juveniles of Kuhl's bat (Pipistrellus kuhlii, 2 �� ) and two juveniles of Savi's bat (Hypsugo savii, 1� and 1� ) were collected in 1997 in the urban area of Florence (central Italy). Bats were kept in a cage of 50x40x30 cm with a temperature between 17° and 22° C. Every day they were weighted with an electronic balance before eating mealworms (Tenebrio molitor). Digestive efficiency, calculated on dry material, was about 90% for both species. In about six months P. kuhlii and H. savii increased on the average of 450% and 280% in weight respectively. Deposition of fat reserve seemed to be faster in P. kuhlii than in H. savii. Both species showed a circannual cycle in the variation of weight.

Use of foraging habitats by bats in a Mediterranean area determined by acoustic surveys: conservation implications

We determined habitat use by foraging bats by broad‐band acoustic surveys in 10 habitat types from a Mediterranean area (southern Italy). We applied discriminant functions to identify time‐expanded echolocation calls from free‐flying bats.Moon phase and cloud cover had no effect on bat activity. Only Hypsugo savii was influenced by temperature, and activity of Myotis daubentonii and Myotis capaccinii was reduced at higher wind speeds. Both total numbers of bat passes and feeding buzzes were highest over rivers and lakes. Pipistrellus kuhlii and H. savii were most frequently recorded. Pipistrellus kuhlii, Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Tadarida teniotis proved generalists in using foraging habitats.Water sites and conifer plantations were respectively the most and the least used habitats by H. savii. Rivers were especially important to Myotis bats, Miniopterus schreibersii and Pipistrellus pygmaeus. Unlike P. kuhlii, P. pipistrellus was frequent in beech woodlands; P. pygmaeus made a considerable use of chestnut woodlands and Myotis spp. were moderately active in both these woodland types.A large number of endangered or vulnerable species featured in riparian habitats, broadleaved woodlands and olive groves. Riparian and woodland habitats constitute an important target for conservation. Typical land use forms such as woodlands used for chestnut production and traditionally managed olive groves should be encouraged in conservation plans. The negative impact of urbanisation on bats might be counteracted by fostering trees, gardens and small cultivated patches. Farmland practices should encourage landscape complexity and limit the use of pesticides.

Phylogeography of pipistrelle-like bats within the Canary Islands, based on mtDNA sequences

Evolution of three Canary Island Vespertilionid bat species, Pipistrellus kuhlii, Pipistrellus maderensis, and Hypsugo savii was studied by comparison of ∼1 kbp of mtDNA (from cytochrome b and 16S rRNA genes) between islands. mtDNA reveals that both P. kuhlii and P. maderensis exist in sympatry on Tenerife (and possibly other islands). Their morphological similarity explains why their co-occurrence had not been detected previously. Levels of sequence divergence are quite low within P. maderensis. Haplotypes were either identical or separated by ⩽2 mutational steps on two of the islands (La Gomera and El Hierro). However there is sufficient between-island divergence between haplotypes from Tenerife, La Palma, and La Gomera/El Hierro to suggest that they could represent three evolutionary significant units (ESU). H. savii has an overlapping island distribution but a contrasting phylogeographical pattern. Most significantly, sequence divergence is greatest between La Gomera and El Hierro (⩾12 mutational steps) indicating colonization of the latter from the former sometime during the last ∼1.2 Ma, with low subsequent gene flow. Unlike P. maderensis the El Hierro population alone appears to represent an ESU. The H. savii haplotypes detected in Gran Canaria and Tenerife are identical or separated by 1 mutational step.