Rhinolophus mehelyi scythotauricus subsp. nov. (Rhinolophidae, Chiroptera) from the Lower Pleistocene of the Taurida Cave in Crimea
Journal: Doklady Biological Sciences
Year: 2023

A new extinct subspecies of the Mehely's horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus mehelyi scythotauricus subsp. nov., is described on the base of an incomplete skull from the Lower Pleistocene deposits of the Taurida cave in the central Crimea. It is the largest member of the R. euryale group. In terms of the evolutionary level, it is intermediate between Plio-Pleistocene R. mehelyi birzebbugensis Storch, 1974 and recent members of the species, but its large size and relatively narrow upper molars may indicat