108 North-Western Journal of Zoology 2020, vol.16 (1) - Correspondence: Notes

New records of small (Mammalia: Soricomorpha, Rodentia) from the Republic of North Macedonia

The Republic of North Macedonia (Macedonia) is located in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula. Despite its small size (25,713 km2), it has quite diverse landscape and biodi- versity, and it is among the top European hot spots of biodi- versity (Gaston and Rhian, 1994). Macedonia harbors a rela- tively rich fauna, of 89 species, including Balkan endemics, such as stankovici, Microtus felteni, Dinaromys bogdanovi (Kryštufek & Petkovski 2003, Boshamer & Bekker 2007, Micevski et al. 2014, Budinski 2018, Micevski et al.

2018, Stojanov et al. 2019). Small mammals (insectivores, lagomorphs and rodents) make up about 50% of all mamma- lian species, but they remain overlooked for lack of special- Figure 1. Distribution of araneus ists, lower conservation priority, etc. Here we contribute and Sorex minutus in the North Mac- new data about the distribution of 10 species of small mam- edonia. mals in Macedonia.

neighboring south-western Bulgaria (Boev, 1983). During 2007-2019 we carried out field research on small mammals in The water ( fodiens Pennant, 1771) and Mil- various parts of Macedonia. Traps for sampling were baited with sa- lami, oats, fish oil and peanut butter. In 2018 and 2019 we used ler’s water shrew (N. anomalus Cabrera, 1907) are wide- Longworth traps, while in 2007 and 2014 – kill traps. Captured indi- spread in Macedonia, but the former is restricted to the viduals were identified to the species level; live were re- mountains, and the latter – to lower elevations (Kryštufek & leased on site, while most dead individuals from 2018 and 2019 were Petkovski 1989). Here we report 4 new locations for both preserved and deposited in the National Museum of Natural History species, all near mountain streams and brooks, not far from - Sofia. Night transects were carried out for the fat dormouse (Glis the water. glis), as the species was recorded on the basis of its distinctive vocali- On Maleshevo Mountain (1,480 m a.s.l., 11.08.2018), close zation. Each record location was obtained using a hand-held GPS to the Bulgarian border, we captured a single N. anomalus at unit (accuracy ±10 m). Different approaches for division of Macedonia have been ap- a forest edge (N 41.7287, E 23.0160), close to a small brook plied (see Melovski et al. 2013), but here we follow a more general where we trapped N. fodiens (N 41.7284, E 23.0158). approach, proposed by Kryštufek & Petkovski (2003). Additionally, N. fodiens was collected in three more localities along running mountain streams – Kojkovo village (750 m In Macedonia, the genus Sorex is represented by Sorex arane- a.s.l., N 42.0764, E 22.2820; 7.08.2018), Ravna Reka, above us Linnaeus, 1758 and S. minutus Linnaeus, 1766. Their dis- Berovo town (1,160 m a.s.l., N 41.7298, E 22.9791; 12.08.2018), tribution is restricted to the mountainous area in the western Arvati village, Pelister Мountain (1,100 m a.s.l., N 40.9470, E part, with no record east of the Vardar River (Petrov 1992; 21.1221; 10.10.2018). Kryštufek & Petkovski 2003), although previous studies pre- The lesser shrew ( suaveolens Pallas, 1811) is sumed its presence in eastern Macedonia. common and widespread species in Macedonia, but restrict- For the first time, we confirmed the presence of both ed mainly to lower elevations (Kryštufek & Petkovski 2003). species east of Vardar through three observations. We cap- We captured it at the following localities: the bank of Bre- tured one adult female Sorex araneus, the specimen was pre- galnica River (260 m a.s.l., N 41.7131, E 22.1549; 26.09.2014), served as a voucher. The shrew was caught along a small Adzibegovo village (222 m a.s.l., N 41.7719, E 21.9780; stream to Ravna Reka (1,160 m a.s.l., N 41.7330, E 22.9790, 23.07.2019), Vinica (348 m a.s.l., N 41.9016, E 22.4841; 12.08.2018) (Fig. 1a), 13 km east from town of Pehchevo. 7.10.2018), Kadrifakovo village (252 m a.s.l., N 41.8161, E Within the same trapping site, we captured Neomys fodiens, 22.0445; 23.07.2019), Sofilari village (253 m a.s.l., N 41.7127, E Clethrionomys glareolus, and Apodemus flavicollis. Another in- 22.1549; 25.07.2019), Nogaevci village (135 m a.s.l., N dividual was captured in a beech forest on Ponikva, Osogo- 41.6096, E 21.9240; 28.07.2019), and the bank of Kriva vo Mountain (1,560 m a.s.l., N 42.0341, E 22.3561; 22.07.2007). Lakavica River (335 m a.s.l., N 41.6148, E 22.2836; A single Sorex minutus was found dead in a beech forest 26.09.2014). clearing on Dabovec locality, Maleshevo Mountain (1,516 m The bicolored shrew (Crocidura leucodon Hermann, 1780) a.s.l., N 41.6901, E 23.0039; 12.07.2015) (Fig. 1b). The carcass is widespread in Macedonia, but not as common as the lesser was not preserved. shrew (Kryštufek & Petkovski 2003). We found one dead The brown-toothed (Sorex sp.) are quite rare in specimen in Skopje at Gazi Baba Park (276 m a.s.l., N the southern Balkans, even in potentially suitable habitats. 42.0020, E 21.4505; 07.07.2016). The corpse was not pre- Vohralik & Sofianidu (1987) reported only one location for served. Sorex araneus from NW Greece (Vrontous Mountain); they The fat dormouse (Glis glis Linnaeus, 1766) is common in caught only four shrews among 813 small mammals. This Macedonia (Kryštufek & Petkovski 2003). We captured or record still remains the only one for Greece (G. Mitsainas, registered (on the base of its distinctive vocalization) its pers. com.). These shrews are also rarely caught in the presence mainly in beech forests, as it goes up to the timber- North-Western Journal of Zoology 2020, vol.16 (1) - Correspondence: Notes 109 line in Osogovo Mountain. The new localities are as follows: References Boev, Z. (1983): Insectivores and rodents (Mammalia: Insectivora, Rodentia) at the edge of a beech forest above Drenak, Osogovo Moun- from the Ograzden Mountain. Acta Zoologica Bulgarica 21: 59-66. tain (1,700 m a.s.l., N 42.1033, E 22.4087; 08.08.2018), Berovo Bekker, J.P., Boshamer, J. (2007): First records of Plecotus auritus (Linnaeus, town (1,120 m a.s.l., N 41.7296, E 22.9373; 12.08.2018), Zhdil- 1758) and Plecotus macrobullaris Kuzjakin, 1965 in the Republic of Macedonia. ovo, above Kriva Palanka (850 m a.s.l., N 42.2248, E 22.4088, Results of a mammal survey in Galichica National Park (II). Lutra 50 (1): 43- 48. 04.10.2018), Kostur, above Kriva Palanka (1,000 m a.s.l., N Budinski, I. (2018): The first record of Bechstein's bat (Myotis bechsteinii (Kuhl, 42.1941, E 22.4545; 04.10.2018), Magarevo village, Pelister 1817)) in Macedonia and first data on bat fauna of the Korab mountain. Mountain (1,120 m a.s.l., N 41.0457, E 21.2297; 08.10.2018), Hypsugo 2: 1-10. Gaston, K., Rhain, D. (1994): Hotspots across Europe. Biodiversity Letters 2: and Ponikva, Osogovo Mountain (1,600 ma.s.l., N 42.032, E 108-116. 22.3570; 14.07.2007). Kryštufek, B. (2017): Harting’s vole (Microtus hartingi). In Wilson, Lacher and The common dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius Lin- Mittermeier (eds.) “Handbook of the Mammals of the World”, V. 7, Rodentia II, Lynx edition, 348 p. naeus, 1766) is sporadically distributed in western Macedo- Kryštufek, B., Petkovski, S. (1989): Distribution of water shrews (gen. Neomys nia (Kryštufek & Petkovski 1990). We found the species at Kaup 1829, Insectivora, Mammalia) in Macedonia. Fragmenta Balcánica the following locations: near Shtip town (310 m a.s.l., N Musei Macedonici Scientiarum Naturalium 14(12/305): 107-116. Kryštufek, B., Petkovski, S. (1990): New records of mammals from Macedonia 41.7120, E 22.1579; 05.10.2014); Pelister Mountain (1,366 m (Mammalia). Fragmenta Balcánica Musei Macedonici Scientiarum a.s.l., N 41.0395, E 21.2208; 25.04.2019). Naturalium 14(13/306): 117-129. The European pine vole (Microtus subterraneus de Selys- Kryštufek, B., Petkovski, S. (2003): Annotated checklist of the mammals of the Longchamps, 1836) is found mainly in the mountainous are- Republic of Macedonia. Bonner Zoologische Beiträge 51: 229–254. Kryštufek, B., Zorenko, T., Bontzorlos, V., Mahmoudi, A., Atanasov, N., as along the borders with Albania, Greece, and Bulgaria, and Ivajnšič, D. in the central part of Macedonia on Jakupica Mt. (Kryštufek (2018): Incipient road to extinction of a keystone herbivore in south-eastern & Petkovski 2003). We trapped one specimen close to Klepa- Europe: Harting’s vole (Microtus hartingi) under climate change. Climatic Change 149: 443–456. lo locality, Maleshevo Mountain along a running mountain Melovski, L., Markovski, B., Hristovski, S., Jovanovska, D., Anastasovski, V., stream (1,100 m a.s.l., N 41.6735, E 22.9389; 30.07.2019). Klincharov, S., Velevski, M., Velkovski, N., Trendafilov, A., Matevski, V., The Harting’s vole (Microtus hartingi, Barret-Hamilton, Kostadinovski, M., Karadelev, M., Levkov, Z., Kolchakovski, D. (2013): Regional division of the Republic of Macedonia for the needs of biological 1903) is a large vole, the only member of the subgenus Su- databases. Macedonian Journal of Ecology and Environment 15 (2): 81-111. meriomys occurring on the Balkans (formerly reported as Mi- Micevski, N., Presetnik, P., Micevski, B., Cel'uch, M. (2014): Contribution to crotus guentheri): Turkish Thrace, Greece, SE Bulgaria, North knowledge about Macedonian bat fauna. Vespertilio 17: 103–114. Micevski, N., Juste, J., Micevski, B. (2018): First record of Myotis alcathoe von Macedonia, and south Serbia. Its distribution in Macedonia Helversen & Heller, 2001 (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in Macedonia. is fragmented –along the Vardar River (central Macedonia), Journal of Bat Research & Conservation 11(1): 10.14709/BarbJ.11.1.2018.03. and in the hilly area around Bitola (Kryštufek & Petkovski Petrov, B. M. (1992): Mammals of Yugoslavia. Insectivores and Rodents. 2003). It has been found at altitudes from 130 to 800 m a.s.l. Natural History Museum in Belgrade, Suppl. 37: 1-186. Stojanov, A., Melovski, D., Nakev, S. (2019): The first record of the Greater (Petrov 1992). We found this vole near Jastrebnik village, noctule bat (Nyctalus lasiopterus (Schreber, 1780)) in the North Macedonia. above Kochani (960 m a.s.l., N 41.9898, E 22.4007; 5.10.2018), Hypsugo, Journal of bat research in the Balkans, 4 (1): 29-33. on the south slope of Ograzhden Mountain. The habitat was Vohralik, V., Sofianidou, T. (1987): Small mammals (Insectivora, Rodentia) of Macedonia, Greece. Acta Universitatis Carolinae Biologica 1985: 319-354. a dry meadow surrounded by xerophytic oak forest. Micro- tus hartingi is a new species for Ograzhden Mountain. Likely Key words: small mammals, distribution, North Macedonia, Sorex it is not present on the Bulgarian side of the mountain; in araneus, Sorex minutus, Microtus hartingi. Bulgaria it is found only in the SE, where it inhabits similar habitats but at lower elevations (up to 400 m a.s.l.). Accord- Article No.: e207701 ing to our knowledge this record is the highest in Europe; in Received: 20. January 2020 / Accepted: 15. February 2020 Available online: 23. February 2020 / Printed: June 2020 western Anatolia the species was recorded at 1,500 m a.s.l.

(Kryštufek 2017). A recent Harting’s vole distributional model shows that the climate plays a key role in determining Nedko NEDYALKOV1*, Dime MELOVSKI2,3, Aleksandar the geospatial extend of this species (Kryštufek et al., 2018). STOJANOV2 and Aleksandar PAVLOV2 In this regard our finding could be treated as a recent re- spond of the species to the climate change. 1. National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria. Acknowledgment. The survey would not have been possible 2. Macedonian Ecological Society, Arhimedova 5, 1000 Skopje, North without the support by the Nature Conservation Programme – Phase Macedonia 3. Wildlife Sciences, University of Goettingen, Büsgenweg 3, 37077 Goettingen, II, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Germany. and the Dutch Mammal Society who lent us the Longworth traps. * Corersponding author, N. Nedyalkov, E-mail: [email protected] We thank the two reviewers who provided helpful comments. Gratitude is also extended to Yurii Kornilev, who significantly improved the language of the paper.