Lynx, n. s. (Praha), 47: 51–69 (2016). ISSN 0024-7774 (print), 1804-6460 (online) First records of bats from the Alatish National Park, north-western Ethiopia (Chiroptera) První nálezy netopýrů v Národním parku Alatiš, severozápadní Ethiopie (Chiroptera) Первые сведения о рукокрылых национального парка Алатиш, Северо-западная Эфиопия (Chiroptera) Sergei V. KRUSKOP1, Petr BENDA2,3, Denis A. VASENKOV4 & Leonid A. LAVRENCHENKO4 1 Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, Ul. Bolshaya Nikitskaya 2, Moscow 125009, Russia;
[email protected] 2 Department of Zoology, National Museum (Natural History), Václavské nám. 68, CZ–115 79 Praha 1, Czech Republic;
[email protected] 3 Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ–128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic 4 A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, Leninskii pr. 33, Moscow 119071, Russia;
[email protected];
[email protected] received on 10 October 2016 Abstract. The paper presents results of a first attempt to survey bats of the Alatish National Park (north- western Ethiopia). Twenty-one bat species belonging to eight families and twelve genera were documen- ted for the first time in the Park, at least two bat species (Hipposideros abae, Pipistrellus nanulus) were found new for the fauna of Ethiopia. The Alatish National Park is an area of high conservation value due to its high bat species diversity and a complex structure of the fauna including elements with various zoogeographic affinities. Key words. Bats, Alatish National Park, Ethiopia, Hipposideros abae, Pipistrellus nanulus, Neoromicia, new records. INTRODUCTION The vast lowlands, lying west of the Ethiopian highlands, represent an area of high biological diversity (YALDEN et al.