Acta Soc. Zool. Bohem. 70: 1–329, 2006 ISSN 1211-376X Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the Eastern Mediterranean. Part 4. Bat fauna of Syria: distribution, systematics, ecology Petr BENDA1,2,12), Michal ANDREAS3), Dieter KOCK4), Radek K. LUČAN5), Pavel MUNCLINGER2), Petra NOVÁ2), Ján OBUCH6), Katarzyna OCHMAN7), Antonín REITER8), Marcel UHRIN9,10) & Dita WEINFURTOVÁ11) 1) Department of Zoology, National Museum (Natural History), Václavské nám. 68, CZ–115 79 Praha 1, Czech Republic 2) Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ–128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic 3) The Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening, Květnové nám. 391, Průhonice, CZ–252 43, Czech Republic 4) Senckenberg Museum and Research Institute, Senckenberg-Anlage 25, D–60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany 5) Department of Zoology, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, CZ–370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic 6) Botanical Garden, Comenius University, SK–038 15 Blatnica, Slovakia 7) Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, PAS, Sławkowska 17, PL–31-016 Kraków, Poland 8) South Moravian Museum in Znojmo, Přemyslovců 8, CZ–669 45 Znojmo, Czech Republic 9) Muránska planina National Park, J. Kráľa 12, SK–050 01 Revúca, Slovakia 10) Institute of Forest Ecology, SAS, Štúrova 2, SK–960 53 Zvolen, Slovakia; 11) Museum of the Bohemian Karst, Husovo nám. 88, CZ–266 01 Beroun, Czech Republic 12) editor and corresponding author: [email protected] Received 14 November 2006; accepted 18 November 2006 Published 28 December 2006 Abstract. A complete list of bat records available from Syria was compiled from literature and from new records, based on field studies and examination of museum specimens. The record review is complemented by distribution maps, summaries of the distributional statuses of particular species, files of field observations, reviews of taxonomy, and data on feeding ecology. To some species sheets, also the echolocation data are added. From the territory of the modern Syrian Arab Republic, 290 records of 27 bat species belonging to eight families are reported; viz. Rousettus aegyptiacus (Geoffroy, 1810) (5 record localities), Rhinopoma microphyllum (Brünnich, 1782) (2), Rhinopoma hardwickii Gray, 1831 (4), Taphozous nudiventris Cretzschmar, 1830 (9), Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774) (25), R. hipposideros (Bechstein, 1800) (10), R. euryale Blasius, 1853 (2), R. mehelyi Matschie, 1901 (6), R. blasii Peters, 1866 (3), Asellia tridens (Geoffroy, 1813) (10), Myotis myotis (Borkhausen, 1797) (6), M. blythii (Tomes, 1857) (10), M. nattereri (Kuhl, 1817) (6), M. emarginatus (Geoffroy, 1806) (5), M. aurascens Kusjakin, 1935 (4), M. capaccinii (Bonaparte, 1837) (13), Eptesicus serotinus (Schreber, 1774) (13), E. bottae (Peters, 1869) (10), E. anatolicus Felten, 1971 (4), Hypsugo savii (Bonaparte, 1837) (11), Pipistrellus pipistrellus (Schreber, 1774) (16), P. kuhlii (Kuhl, 1817) (69), Nyctalus noctula (Schreber, 1774) (4), Otonycteris hemprichii Peters, 1859 (13), Plecotus macrobullaris Kuzjakin, 1965 (5), Miniopterus schreibersii (Kuhl, 1817) (9), and Tadarida teniotis (Rafinesque, 1814) (16). The records labelled from Syria in the historical broader sense (which included also the modern Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and parts of southern Turkey) and thus of indefined origin, were also added and discussed. Eptesicus anatolicus, which is here considered a separate species according to results of profound morphological analysis, is in Syria recorded for the first time. From the territory currently ruled by the Syrian Arab Republic (i.e., without the Golan Heights), R. hipposideros, M. nattereri, H. savii, N. noctula, and T. teniotis are reported for the first time. The reviews of taxonomic opinions concerning particular species, supplemented in some cases by original analyses, present discussions and revisions of taxonomy of Syrian populations, namely in Taphozous nudiventris, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, R. euryale, R. mehelyi, Myotis myotis, M. nattereri, M. emarginatus, Eptesicus serotinus, E. bottae, Hypsugo savii, Otonycteris hemprichii, and Miniopterus schreibersii. The name Rhinolophus (Euryalus) judaicus Andersen et Matschie, 1904 is found to be a synonym of the name R. mehelyi Matschie, 1901 instead of R. euryale Blasius, 1853. New interpretations on the type localities are discussed and/or suggested (Vespertilio Microphyllus Brünnich, 1782, Taphozous kachhensis babylonicus Thomas, 1915, Rhinolophus blasii Peters, 1866, and Myotis Escalerai Cabrera, 1904). Distribution, taxonomy, ecology, echolocation, Chiroptera, Middle East, biodiversity, Palaearctic Region 1 CONTENTS Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Material and Methods ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................................................. 10 List of species .................................................................................................................................................................. 11 Rousettus aegyptiacus (Geoffroy, 1810) .................................................................................................................... 11 Rhinopoma microphyllum (Brünnich, 1782) ............................................................................................................. 18 Rhinopoma hardwickii Gray, 1831 .......................................................................................................................... 21 Taphozous nudiventris Cretzschmar, 1830 ................................................................................................................ 29 Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774) .......................................................................................................... 42 Rhinolophus hipposideros (Bechstein, 1800) ............................................................................................................ 57 Rhinolophus euryale Blasius, 1853 ........................................................................................................................... 64 Rhinolophus mehelyi Matschie, 1901 ........................................................................................................................ 75 Rhinolophus blasii Peters, 1866 ................................................................................................................................ 80 Asellia tridens (Geoffroy, 1813) ................................................................................................................................ 84 Myotis myotis (Borkhausen, 1797) ............................................................................................................................ 96 Myotis blythii (Tomes, 1857) .................................................................................................................................... 103 Myotis nattereri (Kuhl, 1817) ................................................................................................................................... 110 Myotis emarginatus (Geoffroy, 1806) ....................................................................................................................... 120 Myotis aurascens Kusjakin, 1935 ............................................................................................................................. 129 Myotis capaccinii (Bonaparte, 1837) ........................................................................................................................ 133 Eptesicus serotinus (Schreber, 1774) ........................................................................................................................ 140 Eptesicus bottae (Peters, 1869) ................................................................................................................................. 154 Eptesicus anatolicus Felten, 1971 ............................................................................................................................. 175 Hypsugo savii (Bonaparte, 1837) .............................................................................................................................. 179 Pipistrellus pipistrellus (Schreber, 1774) .................................................................................................................. 187 Pipistrellus kuhlii (Kuhl, 1817) ................................................................................................................................ 196 Nyctalus noctula (Schreber, 1774) ............................................................................................................................ 216 Otonycteris hemprichii Peters, 1859 ......................................................................................................................... 221 Plecotus macrobullaris Kuzjakin, 1965 .................................................................................................................... 230 Miniopterus schreibersii (Kuhl, 1817) ...................................................................................................................... 240 Tadarida