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Sardinian long-eared bat | Plecotus sardus
Sardijnse grootoorvleermuis | Orejudo Sardo
The Sardinian Long-eared Bat is endemic to Sardinia. Mucedda, Kiefer, Pidinchedda and Veith described it in 2002 from an adult male found dead on 22 September 2001 in a cave in the Lanaitto valley near Oliena (province of Nuoro); the species can be identified unambiguously by DNA sequence. It combines characters of the Brown and the Grey Long-eared Bat and according to its describers has the longest tragus of the European long-eared bats, over 18 mm. Forearm 41.1 to 42.2 mm. Since 2023 it has been listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the global Red List.
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Tracks
Few roosts are known. The species has been found in natural caves in karst areas, and also in lofts, viaducts and tunnels. Four maternity colonies were known when the handbook was published; colonies range from a dozen to about 200 bats. Droppings lie beneath the hanging spots. On a bat detector the species cannot be separated from the other long-eared bats.
Identification
A medium-sized long-eared bat, as large as the Grey and Mountain Long-eared Bats and larger than the Brown. Measurements of the type specimen: head and body 45 mm, tail 51 mm, ear 37.5 mm, tragus 18.5 mm long and 6.5 mm wide, forearm 41.2 mm, thumb 6.0 mm. The dorsal fur is fine and woolly, about 10 mm long, brown, with tricoloured hairs: the basal 6 mm very dark brown-grey, then 2.5 mm whitish light brown and a brown tip of 1.5 mm. The underparts are whitish to pale brown; the border between upperparts and underparts is sharp. The ears are pale brown with a reddish tinge; the tragus is pale brown to yellowish white and more or less straight. The muzzle is narrower and less swollen than in the Brown Long-eared Bat, pale pinkish brown and without a dark mask. There is a hairless glandular wart under the chin. The wing membrane is brown with a reddish tinge and is attached at the base of the toe; the calcar is 18 mm long with a small lobe at the tip. The penis is almost cylindrical and pointed only at the tip. Echolocation has two overlapping harmonics; the first falls from 45–53 kHz to 17–21 kHz.
Similar species
The Brown Long-eared Bat (P. auritus) and the Grey Long-eared Bat (P. austriacus) also occur on Sardinia. The Sardinian species resembles the Brown in its brown dorsal fur and the length of thumb and thumb claw, and the Grey in its whitish underparts, tragus width and forearm length. It differs from both in tragus length (over 18 mm) and penis shape: almost cylindrical, against narrowing in the Brown and club-shaped in the Grey. From the Grey it also differs in the pale, pinkish-brown muzzle without a dark mask. It shares the penis shape with the Mountain Long-eared Bat (P. macrobullaris), which has not been recorded on Sardinia but occurs on Corsica; the baculum differs in shape between the two. Externally, identification without measurements is not conclusive; in a fragment of the 16S rRNA gene the species differs at 21 to 44 positions from the other European species.
Habitat
Little is known about its habitat. The first three localities lie in the most wooded parts of the island, about 60 km apart: two in limestone mountains in central-east Sardinia, in the area of the Gennargentu and Gulf of Orosei National Park, not far from the coast, and one low-lying site in the centre of the island, at the Omodeo reservoir on the Tirso. Later records also come from olive groves and cork oak woodland. The species is thought to forage in woodland and to roost in caves.
Where the animal is most at home, classified with EUNIS — the European standard for habitats.
Distribution
Endemic to Sardinia, where it is known from a few closely spaced areas in the centre and east of the island: the Lanaitto (Oliena) and Baccu Addas (Baunei) valleys in the province of Nuoro and the area around Lake Omodeo (Ula Tirso, province of Oristano). The species is monotypic. Genetically it is closest to the Brown and Mountain Long-eared Bats.
Way of life
No data on activity, diet or movements have been published; the bats are thought to catch moths in structurally rich Mediterranean woodland. The species is regarded as sedentary. The four known maternity colonies together are estimated at fewer than 1000 breeding bats; little is known about reproduction itself. Nothing has been published on overwintering either; the other European long-eared bats spend the winter in hibernation.
Where and when to look
The species can only be identified by measurements of a bat in the hand or by DNA, and catching or handling is only permitted under licence. Caves in the limestone areas of Oliena and Baunei are visited by tourists; do not enter caves or passages where bats are hanging. Records of long-eared bats on Sardinia, with place and date, are relevant for the distribution map even when the species is not established.
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (CR) on the global Red List, assessed in 2023; at the previous assessment it was listed as Vulnerable (VU). Four maternity colonies are known, together fewer than 1000 breeding bats. Threats cited are the limited and shrinking forest cover on Sardinia, forestry and deforestation, and disturbance of roosts, especially through cave visits and tourism. As a European bat the species falls under Annex IV of the Habitats Directive, the Bern Convention and the EUROBATS Agreement.
Scientific name
Plecotus sardus | Mucedda, Kiefer, Pidinchedda, & Veith, 2002
Mucedda, Kiefer, Pidinchedda, & Veith described the species in 2002 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. Plecotus is Greek, from plekein, 'to plait, twist together', and ous, genitive ōtos, 'ear', after the huge ears joined across the forehead. sardus is Latin for 'Sardinian'; the species occurs only on Sardinia. The specimen the first description was based on came from Italy, Sardinia.