Contributions on the southern distribution of Vespertilio murinus Linnaeus, 1758 (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Turkiye

Abstract

Vespertilio murinus Linnaeus, 1758, has a wide distribution from France to Japan, and from Iran in the south to Scandinavia and Russia in the north. The only records of the parti-coloured bat, Vespertilio murinus known from Turkey so far were based on subfossils, remains from owl pellets, and ultrasound recordings. We present the first records of live individuals from two Turkish provinces, Ardahan and Bayburt. Additionally, based on echolocation call records, its known distribution in the Anatolian Peninsula was proved to be wider. The global distribution of the species has been mapped by using ecological niche modelling. The results revealed that its distribution is highly influenced by precipitation dynamics. Although no cases of domestic cat predation on bats have previously been documented in Turkey, this paper also provides the first case study of V. murinus predated by a domestic cat in Ardahan, in November 2003.