Miniopterus pallidus, Thomas, 1907

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Miniopteridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 674-709 : 699

15.

Pallid Long-fingered Bat

Miniopterus pallidus

French: Minioptere pale / German: Fahle Langfligelfledermaus / Spanish: Minidptero pélido

Other common names: Anatolian Bent-winged Bat, Anatolian Long-fingered Bat, Ashen Long-fingered Bat, Pallid Bent-winged Bat

Taxonomy. Miniopterus schreibersi [sic] pallidus Thomas, 1907 ,

“South coast of Caspian,” Iran. Restricted by D. M. Lay in 1967 to “vicinity of Bandari-Gaz,” Golestan Province, Iran.

Miniopterus pallidus was traditionally considered a subspecies of M. schreibersii until genetic differences at mtDNA and nDNA levels justified its species rank. Both species occasionally share roosts in an area of sympatry in Anatolia, and a few cases of hybridization have been reported. Monotypic.

Distribution. E Anatolia ( Turkey), S Armenia, Azerbaijan, Syria, Lebanon, NW Jordan, Iran, S Turkmenistan, and S Afghanistan. Distribution of the complex along the Levant and in Iraq is unclear. Localities closer to Mediterranean coast probably correspond to Schreibers’s Long-fingered Bat ( M. schreibersii ), whereas those more inland and in Iraq correspond to the Pallid Long-fingered Bat; genetic analyses are needed to confirm this pattern.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 56-65 mm, tail 58-66 mm, ear 11-7-14-9 mm, forearm 43-448 mm; weight 14-7-15-2 g. Pelage of the Pallid Long-fingered Bat is short (c.7-5 mm mid-dorsal region), fine, soft, and silky. Dorsalfur is uniform grayish or grayish brown, and ventral fur is paler. Hairs are bicolored, basally darker. Tail and uropatagium are relatively long. Wing membranes and uropatagium are dark. Ears are small, and tragus (4-9-6-3 mm) is slender and slightly curved forward. General color pattern was used as a diagnostic character to differentiate species; i.e. the Pallid Long-fingered Bat is paler on dorsum and more brownish on venter than Schreibers’s Long-fingered Bat. Later, it was concluded that color of both species overlap widely, and differences were linked to seasonal changes, rendering color variation not useful to identify species. The Pallid Long-fingered Bat hasa slightly larger forearm, but differences although significant, cannot be used as a diagnostic character due to the large overlap in measurements. Chromosomal complement of the Pallid Long-fingered Bat has 2n = 46 and FN = 54 ( Iran), with 50 autosomal arms (FNa = 50). X-chromosome is metacentric, and Y-chromosome is acrocentric.

Habitat. Mediterranean scrub at almost sea level (most western populations), semiarid steppe above elevations of 1100 m (Central Anatolian Plateau), semiarid mountainous areas above 1400 m ( Iran), and deserts, marginally. In areas where they co-occur, the Pallid Long-fingered Bat occurs in more continental environments, and Schreibers’s Long-fingered Bat occupies more Mediterranean habitats close to the sea. The Pallid Long-fingered Bat seems to avoid most of the Hyrcanian zone of humid forests in northern Iran. In steppe and semiarid zones, Pallid Long-fingered Bats select places with mild climatic conditions. Foraging habitats in arid landscape are concentrated in valley bottoms and river environments or water bodies (ponds, lagoons, etc.) with riparian or floodplain vegetation.

Food and Feeding. The Pallid Long-fingered Bat is an aerial hawker, mostly hunting moths in open spaces, butit can forage in somewhat cluttered places because it has relatively maneuverable flight. Diet contained more than 95% Lepidoptera in samples from Iran, Syria, and Jordan, and the rest was from Coleoptera, Diptera , Neuroptera , and Odonata.

Breeding. In western Iran at elevations of ¢. 1400 m, mating occurs in late October and births in earlyJune. Implantation occurs in about early March after arousal from hibernation. Gestation lasts 7-5-8 months. In the Lesser Caucasus (south-western Azerbaijan), reproductive phenology is somewhat later. Implantation occurred in early April at the end of hibernation, small fetuses were observed in mid-April, births were spread over 30 days, juveniles were observed from mid-June through July, and lactation ended in the second one-half ofJuly. At birth, young are naked, with closed eyes, folded pinnae, and body weights of ¢.3-7 g. By the end offirst week of age, ears were erect, and a few sparse hairs were present on their bodies. Eyes opened during the first week, and young began to move. Short soft hair of young was apparent at 6-10 days old. Hair at birth was dark gray and gradually changed to light gray during postnatal period. In their second month, young started flying independent in the cave, and average body weight was 11-3 g, corresponding to 91:6% of adult body weight.

Activity patterns. The Pallid Long-fingered Bat is nocturnal. Individuals have been seen hibernating in November—-December. It uses mostly caves, unused mines, and tunnels as day roosts. Echolocation calls have downward FM signals, with start frequencies of 58:5-60-5 kHz, end frequencies of 30-56-4 kHz, peak frequencies of 55-5-57-9 kHz, durations of 4-8—6-2 milliseconds, and intervals of 36-7-109-3 milliseconds.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Colonies of Pallid Long-fingered Bats usually have hundreds of individuals, reaching highs of 1000-1500 individuals. It often shares roosts with other cave-dwelling species of Rhinolophus and Myotis .

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. The Pallid Long-fingered Bat was separated from Schreibers’s Long-fingered Bat, which is classified as Near Threatened.

Bibliography. Akmali et al. (2015), Benda & Gaisler (2015), Benda, Abi-Said et al. (2016), Benda, Andreas et al. (2006), Benda, Faizolahi et al. (2012), Benda, Hanak & Cerveny (2011), Bilgin, Girin, Maraci et al. (2012), Benda, Luéan et al. (2010), Bilgin, Girin, Rebelo et al. (2016), Bilgin, Karatas et al. (2006), Furman, Coraman et al. (2009), Furman, Oztunc & Coraman (2010), Furman, Postawa et al. (2010), Harrison & Bates (1991), Karatas & Sézen (2004), Karatas et al. (2008), Lay (1967), Mehdizadeh et al. (2019), Sharifi & Vaissi (2013), Sharifi et al. (2002), Sramek et al. (2013), Thomas (1907b), Whitaker & Karatag (2009).

Figures

1. Asian Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus fuliginosus), 2. Large Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus magnater), 3. Small Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus pusillus), 4. Intermediate Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus meduius), 5. Ryukyu Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus fuscus), 6. Eschscholtz’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus eschscholtzii), 7. Philippine Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus paululus), 8. Great Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus tristis), 9. Shortridge’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus shortridgei), 10. Javanese Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus blepotis), 11. Little Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus australis), 12. Small Melanesian Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus macrocneme), 13. Loyalty Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus robustior), 14. Australian Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus orianae), 15. Pallid Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus pallidus), 16. Schreibers’s Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus schreibersu), 17. Neghrohion Long-fingered Bat (Miniopterus maghrebensis)

Distribution. E Anatolia ( Turkey ), S Armenia , Azerbaijan , Syria , Lebanon , NW Jordan , Iran , S Turkmenistan , and S Afghanistan . Distribution of the complex along the Levant and in Iraq is unclear. Localities closer to Mediterranean coast probably correspond to Schreibers’s Long-fingered Bat ( M. schreibersii ), whereas those more inland and in Iraq correspond to the Pallid Long-fingered Bat; genetic analyses are needed to confirm this pattern.