Plecotus auritus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Godlevska, L., Rebrov, S., Vorobei, P., Savchenko, M. & Panchenko, P., 2022, Bats Of Central Ukraine: A Synopsis, Zoodiversity 56 (3), pp. 203-232 : 219-220

Plecotus auritus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Note. Till late 1990s, in publications of Ukrainian zoologists, long-eared bats ( P. auritus and P. austriacus ) were considered as one species ( fig. 19, C). Therefore, to estimate the distribution of these two species in the past only by publications is not possible. However, in museum collections, there are 34 specimens collected within the study region (in ZMF- and ZFS-subregions) in 1912–1969. All of them are P. auritus s. s. ( Zagorodniuk & Godlevska, 2001; Godlevska, 2013 b).

P. auritus was recorded in three subregions ( fig. 19), all year round.

The breeding was confirmed in three subregions (in total, in 23 localities). Revealed maternity roosts were in underground cavities, n = 3; and in overground sections of (abandoned) buildings, n = 4 ( Godlevska et al, 2016 a; Annex). In the breeding roosts, adult males were recorded together with females and juveniles. The maximum number of the summer colony, found in a big abandoned factory cellar, was about 60 individuals, with 1M, 7Fad-repr, 1Mjuv examined (Annex).

Known hibernacula are underground. The maximum hibernation number per site, counted in one of the mines in the Dniester region (VRB-1 mine, Vinnytsya Region), was 55 individuals ( Godlevska et al., 2012). However, in most hibernacula, the counted number of P. auritus was 1–12 individuals .