Eptesicus anatolicus explained

The Anatolian serotine bat (Eptesicus anatolicus) is a species of bat found in the Middle-East, Cyprus and Rhodes Island, Greece.

Taxonomy

Eptesicus anatolicus was described in 1971 by Felten. However, a statement few years later from Harrison, who considered the specimens he examined as a sub-species of Eptesicus bottae, was accepted as taxonomical reference for more than three decades.^[1] In 2006, Benda et al. suggested that Eptesicus anatolicus should regain a species status following clear morphological evidence.^[2]

Range and habitat

This bat is known to forage in open areas, around streetlamps and in the semi-open area along cliffs and vegetation.^[3] This species is recorded in Turkey, Syria, Greece (Rhodes Island), Cyprus and Iran.

This species is listed in the Berne Convention and is specifically targeted by the UNEP-EUROBATS convention.

Literature cited

• Benda, P., Andreas, M., Kock, D., Lucan, R. K., Munclinger, P., Nova, P., ... & Weinfurtova, D. (2006).Bats(Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the Eastern Mediterranean. Part 4. Bat fauna of Syria: distribution, systematics, ecology. Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae, 70(1), 1–329.
• Benda, P., Faizolâhi, K., Andreas, M., Obuch, J., Reiter, A., Ševčík, M., Uhrin, M., Vallo, P., & Ashrafi, S. 2012.Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. Part 10. Bat fauna of Iran. Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae, 76(1-4), 163–582.
• Dietz C., VonhelVersen O. & nill D. 2007: Handbuch der Fledermäuse Europas und Nordwestafrikas. Biologie– Kennzeichen – Gefährdung. Stuttgart: Franckh-Kosmos Verlags GmbH & Co. KG, 399 pp.

Notes and References

1. Benda et al. 2012
2. Benda et al. 2006
3. Dietz et al. 2007