Botta's serotine
Botta's serotine (Eptesicus bottae) is a species of vesper bat, one for 25 in the genus Eptesicus. It can be found in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan possibly Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. It is found in rocky areas and temperate desert.
| Botta's serotine | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus: | Eptesicus |
| Species: | E. bottae |
| Binomial name | |
| Eptesicus bottae (Peters, 1869) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Taxonomy and etymology
It was described as a new species in 1869 by German naturalist Wilhelm Peters. Peters placed it in the now-defunct bat genus Vesperus with a binomial of V. bottae. The holotype had been collected in Arabian Peninsula by Paul-Émile Botta in 1837.[2] Later, it was determined that the exact type locality was specifically in southwestern Yemen.[3] Botta is the eponym for the species name "bottae."[2] In 1878, George Edward Dobson wrote that he considered it synonymous with the serotine bat, Vesperugo (=Eptesicus) serotinus.[4] By 1967, it was referred to as its present name combination, Eptesicus bottae.[5]
Description
Individuals weigh 8–9 g (0.28–0.32 oz) and have wingspans of 28.2 cm (11.1 in).[6] It has a forearm length of 38–47 mm (1.5–1.9 in).[7] It has an average flight speed of 5.7 m/s (13 mph).[6]
Range and habitat
It is found in several countries bordering the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, the Middle East, and Asia. Countries where it is found include: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt Georgia, Aegean Islands of Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. It has been documented at a range of elevations up to 2,100 m (6,900 ft) above sea level.[1]
Conservation
As of 2008, it is evaluated as a least-concern species by the IUCN. It meets the criteria for this assessment because it has a wide geographic range and no major threats to its existence have been identified. Within Egypt, it is considered locally common, though it is less common in other parts of its range.[1]
References
- Aulagnier, S.; Karataş, A.; Tsytsulina, K. (2008). "Eptesicus bottae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T7915A12869203. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T7915A12869203.en.
- Peters, W. (1869). "Las Bemerkungen über neue oder weniger bekannte Flederthiere, besonders des Pariser Museums" [Comments on new or less well-known bats, especially from the Parisian Museum]. Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussische Akademie des Wissenschaften zu Berlin (in German): 406.
- Benda, P.; Al-Jumaily, M. M.; Reiter, A.; Nasher, A. K. (2010). "Noteworthy records of bats from Yemen with description of a new species from Socotra" (PDF). Hystrix, the Italian Journal of Mammalogy. 22 (1). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
- Dobson, G. E. (1878). Catalogue of the Chiroptera in the collection of the British Museum. Printed by Order of the Trustees. p. 191.
- Lay, D. M. (1967). "A study of the mammals of Iran, resulting from the Street Expedition of 1962-63". Fieldiana: Zoology. 54: 233.
- Holderied, M. W.; Korine, C.; Fenton, M. B.; Parsons, S.; Robson, S.; Jones, G. (2005). "Echolocation call intensity in the aerial hawking bat Eptesicus bottae (Vespertilionidae) studied using stereo videogrammetry". Journal of Experimental Biology. 208 (7): 1321–1327. doi:10.1242/jeb.01528. PMID 15781892.
- Kingdon, J.; Happold, D.; Butynski, T.; Hoffmann, M.; Happold, M.; Kalina, J. (2013). Mammals of Africa. 4. A&C Black. p. 552-553. ISBN 9781408189962.