caecobarbus geertsi , the african blind barb or congo blind barb ( known as nzonzi a mpofo in the local kikongo language , meaning blind barb ) , is a ray-finned fish species in the family cyprinidae .

this threatened cavefish is only known from democratic republic of the congo , and it is the only member of the monotypic genus caecobarbus .

it was george albert boulenger who described this fish in 1921 and it completely lacks close relatives in the congo region .

despite its common name , " african blind barb , " there are other blind cave cyprinids indigenous to africa , notably the somalian barbopsis devecchi and phreatichthys andruzzii .

caecobarbus geertsii

wikipedia article copyright notice : this article is licensed under the gnu free documentation license . it uses material from the wikipedia article
caecobarbus geertsii
.
proudlove , g . s . ; romero , a . ( 2001 ) .
threatened fishes of the world : caecobarbus geertsii boulenger , 1921 ( cyprinidae )
. environmental biology of fishes 62 : 238 . doi : 10 . 1023 / a : 1011803519256 .
the african blind barb fish , which is also known as the congo blind barb , the african blind barb or , in french , poisson cavernicole d ' afrique and barbu aveugle , is a species of ray - finned fish belonging to the cyprinidae family . believed to be the only member of the caecobarbus genus , the caecobarbus geertsi ( or caecobarbus geertsii ) , as it is scientifically known , this fish is a so - called benthopelagic species , which means it lives and feeds predominantly near the bottom , but also in mid - waters or occasionally near the surface .
the thysville caves complex of the lower congo is globally outstanding for its higher taxonomic endemism ; one of two fish genera ( caecobarbus ) is endemic .
like other african ‘ barbus ‘ this is a rare species in the hobby and unfortunately little information is available regarding its captive care . there has been speculation that it is the closest surface - dwelling relative to the cave - dwelling congo blind barb , caecobarbus geertsii , although this is questionable to say the least as the two do not inhabit the same ecoregion and exhibit some rather crucial morphometric differences .
the most famous inhabitant of the thysville caves complex is the endemic congo blind barb ( caecobarbus geertsii ) . there is speculation that barbus holotaenia is the closest surface water ancestor of this hypogean species ( banister 1986 ) . however , as b . holotaenia lives outside of the ecoregion , some researchers suggest that the true ancestor could actually be a more localized , as - yet undiscovered species from a nearby surface stream , most of which are as of yet poorly surveyed . populations in the two separate caves appear to have the same characteristics , but it is unknown if the populations are in fact the same species and able to interbreed ( banister 1986 ) . c . geertsii is the only species in its genus and one of only three species of blind cavefish known from tropical west africa ( beadle 1981 ) .
caecobarbus geertsi is only known from the mbanzagungu caves ( thysville ) ( circa 5°s , 15°e ) , lower congo river basin ( lévêque and daget 1984 ) . the international trade is restricted ( cites ii , since 6 . 6 . 1981 ) .
caecobarbus geertsi is only known from the mbanzagungu caves ( thysville ) ( circa 5s , 15e ) , lower congo river basin ( lvque and daget 1984 ) . the international trade is restricted ( cites ii , since 6 . 6 . 1981 ) .
caecobarbus geertsi ( african blind barb or congo blind barb ) , locally known as barbu aveugle or poisson cavernicole d ' afrique , is a ray - finned fish species in the family cyprinidae . it is the only member of the monotypic genus caecobarbus . it is found only in thysville caves in the democratic republic of the congo . it has no externally visible eyes . its maximum length is 110 mm ( 4 . 3 in ) . they may live as long as 15 years . it is threatened by sedimentation .
known to inhabit less than ten separate locations , the caecobarbus geertsi , which is regarded as perfectly harmless to humans , is of no commercial use as such , but is sold world - wide as stock for aquariums . fortunately , sales are widely restricted and subject to legislation .
about 200 fish are known from this ecoregion , twelve of which are endemic . mormyrids , cichlids and cyprinids are particularly speciose . an estuarine ichthyofauna occurs in the congo river upstream to matadi , where rapids stop brackish water species from moving further inland . the lower congo river has a mangrove - lined estuary at its mouth with many euryhaline fishes and freshwater representatives of marine families like clupeids , gobies , and tetraodonts . the thysville caves system hosts two fish species , one of which is subterranean congo blind barb ( caecobarbus geertsii ) . the other is the pinkfin alestes ( alestes grandisquamis ) , a pelagic surface water fish with a relatively widespread distribution in the congo basin .
facts summary : the african blind barb fish ( caecobarbus geertsi ) is a species of concern belonging in the species group
fishes
and found in the following area ( s ) : democratic republic of congo ( zaire ) , republic of congo . this species is also known by the following name ( s ) : congo blind barb .
caecobarbus geertsi is a benthopelagic species . it is a blind fish which lives in caves ( 700 m above sea - level ) ( lévêque and daget 1984 ) and feeds on small crustaceans living in the caves and also on animals washed into the caves ( wheeler 1977 ) . caecobarbus geertsi is not closely related to any extant epigean species of the congo region . it is classified as ` textbook and popular press fish ' in robins et al . 1991 . eggs are expelled in a more or less haphazard fashion , the substrate on which the species spawns must have crevices and pores into which the adhesive eggs can roll and be hidden so to prevent predation by its parents or other cave inhabitants .
caecobarbus geertsi is a benthopelagic species . it is a blind fish which lives in caves ( 700 m above sea - level ) ( lvque and daget 1984 ) and feeds on small crustaceans living in the caves and also on animals washed into the caves ( wheeler 1977 ) . caecobarbus geertsi is not closely related to any extant epigean species of the congo region . it is classified as ` textbook and popular press fish ' in robins et al . 1991 . eggs are expelled in a more or less haphazard fashion , the substrate on which the species spawns must have crevices and pores into which the adhesive eggs can roll and be hidden so to prevent predation by its parents or other cave inhabitants .
sedimentation flowing into the caves poses the main threat to caecobarbus geertsi . at least one cave is known to be used as a quarry . the species is known from more than five but fewer than 10 locations . the eoo and aoo are estimated to be far less than the criteria for the vulnerable status , but the estimated number of locations restrict the assessment possibilities for this species to the vulnerable status .
justification : sedimentation flowing into the caves poses the main threat to caecobarbus geertsi . at least one cave is known to be used as a quarry . the species is known from more than five but fewer than 10 locations . the eoo and aoo are estimated to be far less than the criteria for the vulnerable status , but the estimated number of locations restrict the assessment possibilities for this species to the vulnerable status .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd html 4 . 01 transitional / / en
urltoken
unep - wcmc ( comps . ) 2011 . checklist of cites species ( cd - rom ) . cites secretariat , geneva , switzerland , and unep - wcmc , cambridge , united kingdom . isbn 2 - 88323 - 030 - 7 . available online at urltoken or from cites secretariat , chemin des anémones , 1219 châtelaine , genève , switzerland
disclaimer : itis taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available , and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties . however , it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes . while every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up - to - date information available , ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the united states is a party , wildlife statutes , regulations , and any applicable notices that have been published in the federal register . for further information on u . s . legal requirements with respect to protected taxa , please contact the u . s . fish and wildlife service .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 strict / / en
urltoken
thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on the iucn red list of threatened species website , we are grateful for your input .
vulnerable b1ab ( i , ii , iii , iv ) + 2ab ( i , ii , iii , iv ) ver 3 . 1
brummett , r . , mbe tawe , a . n . , dening touokong , c . , reid , g . m . , snoeks , j . staissny , m . , moelants , t . , mamonekene , v . , ndodet , b . , ifuta , s . n . b . , chilala , a . , monsembula , r . , ibala zamba , a . , opoye itoua , o . , pouomogne , v . , darwall , w . & smith , k .
natural and agricultural sedimentation , toxicity and habitat destruction ( caves that collapse ) form threats for this species . sedimentation flowing into the caves poses the main threat to the species . at least one cave is known to be used as a quarry .
to make use of this information , please check the < terms of use > .
latin , caecus = blind + latin , barbus = barbel ( ref . 45335 )
africa : known only from some caves near mbanza - ngungu ( lower congo river basin ) , democratic republic of the congo ( ref . 86866 ) . international trade restricted ( cites ii , since 6 . 6 . 1981 ) .
maturity : l m ? range ? - ? cm max length : 12 . 0 cm tl male / unsexed ; ( ref . 86866 )
blind fish which lives in caves ( ref . 86866 ) , about ( 700 ) 750 - 850 m above sea - level ( ref . 2801 , 86866 ) . feeds on small crustaceans living in the caves and also on animals washed into the caves ( ref . 557 ) , although this needs confirmation ( ref . 86866 ) . estimated longevity 9 - 14 years , but may exceed 15 years ( ref . 86866 ) . not closely related to any extant epigean species of the congo region . classified as ` textbook and popular press fish ' in ref . 4537 .
expels eggs in a more or less haphazard fashion , the substrate on which the species spawns must have crevices and pores into which the adhesive eggs can roll and be hidden so to prevent predation by its parents or other cave inhabitants .
vreven , e . , a . kimbembi ma ibaka and s . wamuini lunkayilakio , 2011 . the congo blind barb : mbanza - ngungu’s albino cave fish . p . 74 - 75 . in w . r . t . darwall , k . g . smith , d . j . allen , r . a . holland , i . j . harrison and e . g . e . brooks ( eds . ) . the diversity of life in african freshwaters : under water , under threat . an analysis of the status and distribution of freshwater species throughout mainland africa . iucn , cambridge , united kingdom and gland , switzerland , 348p . ( ref . 86866 )
phylogenetic diversity index ( ref . 82805 ) : pd 50 = 1 . 0000 [ uniqueness , from 0 . 5 = low to 2 . 0 = high ] .
bayesian length - weight : a = 0 . 00977 ( 0 . 00375 - 0 . 02544 ) , b = 2 . 98 ( 2 . 75 - 3 . 21 ) , in cm total length , based on lwr estimates for this ( sub ) family - body shape ( ref . 93245 ) .
trophic level ( ref . 69278 ) : 3 . 5 ±0 . 45 se ; based on food items .
resilience ( ref . 69278 ) : high , minimum population doubling time less than 15 months ( preliminary k or fecundity . ) .
vulnerability ( ref . 59153 ) : low vulnerability ( 23 of 100 ) .
blind fish which lives in caves ( ref . 86866 ) , about ( 700 ) 750 - 850 m above sea - level ( ref . 2801 , 86866 ) . feeds on small crustaceans living in the caves and also on animals washed into the caves ( ref . 557 ) , although this needs confirmation ( ref . 86866 ) . estimated longevity 9 - 14 years , but may exceed 15 years ( ref . 86866 ) . not closely related to any extant epigean species of the congo region . classified as ` textbook and popular press fish ' in ref . 4537 .
africa : known only from some caves near mbanza - ngungu ( lower congo river basin ) , democratic republic of congo ( ref . 86866 ) . international trade restricted ( cites ii , since 6 . 6 . 1981 ) .
12 . 0 cm tl ( male / unsexed ; ( ref . 86866 ) )
description : eyes not visible though present , deeply embedded in head , without lens and only a rudimentary retina and optical nerve ; pigmentation absent and considered a true albino ; lateral vein creates a vivid red band along lateral line ; gills visible below operculum as a purplish region ; intestinal region visible through abdomen ( ref . 86866 ) . populations from affluents of the kokosi river ( kwilu system ) with opercular guanine spot which may cover 1 / 3 of operculum , in addition to a few other guanine spots and marks ; this spot is absent in all other populations ( affluents of fuma river ) ; within one cave the population has a serrated dorsal spine , which was not found in all other populations examined by heuts ( 1951 ) ( ref . 86866 ) .
blind fish which lives in caves ( ref . 86866 ) , about ( 700 ) 750 - 850 m above sea - level ( ref . 2801 , 86866 ) . feeds on small crustaceans living in the caves and also on animals washed into the caves ( ref . 557 ) , although this needs confirmation ( ref . 86866 ) .
it has no externally visible eyes . its maximum length is 110 mm ( 4 . 3 in ) . they may live as long as 15 years .
eol content is automatically assembled from many different content providers . as a result , from time to time you may find pages on eol that are confusing .
to request an improvement , please leave a comment on the page . thank you !
confused by a class within a class or an order within an order ? please see our brief essay .
to cite this page : myers , p . , r . espinosa , c . s . parr , t . jones , g . s . hammond , and t . a . dewey . 2018 . the animal diversity web ( online ) . accessed at https : / / animaldiversity . org .
disclaimer : the animal diversity web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students . adw doesn ' t cover all species in the world , nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe . though we edit our accounts for accuracy , we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts . while adw staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable , we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control .
this material is based upon work supported by the national science foundation grants drl 0089283 , drl 0628151 , due 0633095 , drl 0918590 , and due 1122742 . additional support has come from the marisla foundation , um college of literature , science , and the arts , museum of zoology , and information and technology services .
common name : congo blind barb ( e ) , barbu aveugle ( f ) .
these keywords were added by machine and not by the authors . this process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves .
boulenger , g . a . 1921 . description d’un poisson aveugle decouvert par m . g . geerts dans la grotte de thysville ( bas - congo ) . rev . zool . afr . 9 : 252–253
heuts , m . j . & n . leleup . 1954 . la géographie et l’ecologie des grottes du bas - congo . les habitats de
jankowska , m . & g . thinès . 1982 . a comparative study of group density in cave and epigean fishes . behav . proc . 7 : 281–294 .
romero , a . & k . benz . 2000 . the unsung heroes of speleology . nat . speleol . soc . news 58 : 106–126 .
boulenger , 1921 ( cyprinidae ) . in : romero a . ( eds ) the biology of hypogean fishes . developments in environmental biology of fishes , vol 21 . springer , dordrecht
, it has no externally visible eyes and reduced pigmentation . its maximum length is
this article is issued from wikipedia - version of the 11 / 8 / 2016 . the text is available under the creative commons attribution / share alike but additional terms may apply for the media files .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 transitional / / en
urltoken
africa : kwilu and inkisi , between matadi and thysville ( circa 5°s , 15°e ) , lower congo river system ( ref . 2801 ) . international trade restricted ( < b > cites < / b > ii , since 6 . 6 . 1981 ) . ;
warning : the ncbi web site requires javascript to function . more . . .
emma e . tarttelin , 1 , * elena frigato , 2 , * james bellingham , 3 viviana di rosa , 2 roberto berti , 4 nicholas s . foulkes , 5 robert j . lucas , 1 and cristiano bertolucci 2 , †
many physiological and behavioural responses to changes in environmental lighting conditions are mediated by extraocular photoreceptors . here we investigate encephalic photoreception in phreatichthys andruzzii , a typical cave - dwelling fish showing an extreme phenotype with complete anophthalmy and a reduction in size of associated brain structures . we firstly identified two p . andruzzii photopigments , orthologues of rod opsin and exo - rod opsin . in vitro , both opsins serve as light - absorbing photopigments with λ max around 500 nm when reconstituted with an a 1 chromophore . when corrected for the summed absorption from the skin and skull , the spectral sensitivity profiles shifted to longer wavelengths ( rod opsin : 521 nm ; exo - rod opsin : 520 nm ) . we next explored the involvement of both opsins in the negative phototaxis reported for this species . a comparison of the spectral sensitivity of the photophobic response with the putative a 2 absorbance spectra corrected for skin / skull absorbance indicates that the a 2 versions of either or both of these pigments could explain the observed behavioural spectral sensitivity .
in nonmammalian vertebrates , extraocular photoreceptors mediate many physiological and behavioural responses to changes in environmental lighting . these include the entrainment of circadian rhythms , sun compass orientation , changes in body pigmentation , as well as colouration and thermoregulation ( bertolucci and foà , 2004 ) . extraocular photoreceptors are found in : ( i ) the pineal complex , involving intracranial ( pineal and parapineal ) and extracranial ( frontal organ and parietal eye ) elements , ( 2 ) the deep brain and ( 3 ) a variety of peripheral tissues ( shand and foster , 1999 ; peirson et al . , 2009 ) .
the existence of deep brain photoreceptors has been demonstrated in a wide range of nonmammalian vertebrate species ( underwood and groos , 1982 ; foster et al . , 1994 ; pasqualetti et al . , 2003 ) . evidence for the existence of deep brain photoreceptors in fish was first described in the european minnow , phoxinus phoxinus , by von frisch and scharrer ( von frisch , 1911 ; scharrer , 1928 ) . minnows retain colour changes and dependent conditioned reflexes in response to light even after removal of both the eyes and the pineal gland .
here , we report the identification of p . andruzzii orthologues of two teleost visual pigments , rod opsin , usually found in retinal rod photoreceptors , and exo - rod opsin , a closely related protein previously identified in the teleost pineal gland . we show that both form light - absorbing photopigments with λ max around 500 nm when reconstituted with an a 1 ( 11 - cis retinaldehyde ) chromophore . to determine whether the presence of either or both of these pigments could be conferring negative phototaxis , we explored the spectral sensitivity of this behaviour . a comparison of these data indicates that either rod or exo - rod pigments employing an a 2 chromophore could indeed represent the origin of the phototactic behaviour .
phreatichthys andruzzii vinciguerra 1924 were originally collected near the village of bud - bud ( 04°11′19″n , 46°28′27″e , central somalia ) during the course of several expeditions ( 1968–1982 ) , and then reproduced in the laboratory . adult cavefish ( n = 10 ) were maintained and bred in darkness at a constant temperature ( 27±0 . 5°c ) except during food administration and aquaria maintenance . they were fed three times per week with flake food and frozen chironomidae larvae and artemia sp . ( ocean nutrition , essen , belgium ) .
total rna was isolated from cavefish brains using trizol reagent ( invitrogen , milano , italy ) according to the manufacturer ' s instructions . to initially obtain partial cdna sequences , single - stranded cdna was synthesised using superscript iii reverse - transcriptase ( invitrogen ) . opsin gene sequences were amplified by pcr using taq dna polymerase ( invitrogen ) with primers designed by primer3 software (
) . the primers used for gene amplification were : forward ( f ) , 5′ - cttcaccgtcacgctctaca - 3′ ; reverse ( r ) , 5′ - gcaatcaccatgacaaccac - 3′ for exo - rod opsin , and f , 5′ - tcaccatcgagcacaagaag - 3′ ; r , 5′ - gggatgaagaagtgcacgat - 3′ for rod opsin . negative control reactions containing water or rna instead of cdna were included in the pcr reactions . bands of the predicted sizes ( 510 bp for
) were cloned into the pgem® - t easy vector ( promega , milano , italy ) . the cavefish opsin cdna fragments were sequenced and compared with the genbank database using the blast algorithm (
both the skin overlying the roof of the skull and the roof of the skull were removed separately from five previously frozen fish and the spectral transmission ( 300–800 nm ) of circular areas 3 . 5 mm in diameter was determined by mounting them in front of an integrating sphere within a spectrophotometer ( uv - 2101pc , shimadzu ) . due to uncertainties of the absolute transmission , all values were expressed relative to the transmission at 800 nm .
tests for negative phototactic behaviour were conducted in a windowless room . the test aquarium ( 75 l , 40×40×48 cm ) was placed in an environmental chamber at 27±0 . 5°c . a black pvc partition was used to divide the aquarium into two halves in such a way that a small 5 - cm - high gap was left above the bottom of the aquarium . this gap allowed the test fish to move from one compartment to the other . both compartments of the aquarium contained a water filter system to keep the water clean and oxygenated . filters were removed 30 min before the trial . one half of the aquarium was covered on all sides by black plastic foil and hence remained dark ( the ‘dark zone’ ) ; the other half was not covered ( the ‘light zone’ ) . the light zone was illuminated using two halogen light sources ( 6423fo , 150 w , philips , milano , italy ) fed into the environmental chamber through fiber optics ( gli - 156p , fort , bergamo , italy ) . using interference filters ( ø 45 mm ; optics balzers ag , balzers , liechtenstein ) we produced three types of monochromatic light at 644±5 , 550±5 and 453±5 nm , respectively . the light source was installed 24 cm above the base of the aquarium in the middle of the water column . irradiance was measured at the level of the black partition ( 31 cm from the interference filter ) by a radiometer ( do9721 , probe lp9021 rad , spectral range 400–950 nm , sensibility 0 . 005 w m −2 , deltaohm , padova , italy ) . the irradiance applied was normalised to obtain the same quanta flux for each monochromatic light source . the light intensity was adjusted using neutral density filters ( lee filters , andover , hampshire , united kingdom ) . for all lights the irradiance in the dark zone was not detectable ( < 0 . 005 w m −2 ) . the maximum irradiance applied ( 0 . 1 w m −2 ) was comparable to the daily average twilight irradiance at the latitude ( 04°11′20″n ) where the fish were collected ( kato and loeb , 2003 ) .
we performed tests with eight different irradiances ( 2 . 2×10 17 , 1 . 1×10 17 , 2 . 2×10 16 , 2 . 2×10 15 , 2 . 2×10 14 , 2 . 2×10 13 , 2 . 2×10 12 and 2 . 2×10 10 quanta m −2 s −1 ) for each monochromatic light source ( a total amount of 240 individual tests ) . to initiate a test , a fish was removed from the breeding aquarium and introduced into the test aquarium 20 h prior to experimentation to allow acclimatisation to the new environment . the behaviour of each fish was tested under each monochromatic light source , irradiance and in darkness in a random order . the time spent in each compartment was determined during a 30 min period . the aquarium was equipped with infrared leds , which were not detected by the fish but allowed video recording ( lythgoe , 1988 ) . filming was carried out with an infrared video camera , and video data were later analysed on a pc .
all the results are expressed as means ± s . d . student ' s t - test , repeated - measures one - way anova and dunnett ' s multiple comparison test were used to determine significant differences ( p < 0 . 05 ) using graphpad prism 4 . 0 ( graphpad software , la jolla , ca , usa ) .
cdna contains a 1065 bp orf encoding a 354 amino acid protein . comparison of the predicted rod and exo - rod opsin protein sequences with their
) indicates that they share 93 and 90 % identity , respectively . as expected , only 74 % identity exists between the rod and exo - rod opsins (
) . asterisks ( * ) indicate amino acid identity and alignment gaps are indicated by dashes ( − ) . the seven transmembrane domains based upon orthology with the bovine rod opsin model (
) are indicated in black . conserved residues and motifs are annotated : ● , n2 and n15 ; ▪ , c110 and c187 ; ▴ , e113 ; + , e134 - r135 - y / w136 tripeptide ; ▾ , k296 ; − , 302 - 313 npxxy ( x )
f motif ; ◆ , c322 and c323 . the proposed a124g spectral tuning site is also indicated ( # ) . see results for more details .
inspection of the primary structure reveals that individual residues and motifs indicative of functional rod opsin photopigments are all present in both opsins . these include : ( 1 ) two amino - terminal glycosylation sites ( n2 and n15 ) and two carboxyl - terminal palmitoylation sites ( c322 and c323 ) ; ( 2 ) a pair of cysteines ( c110 and c187 ) in the second and third extracellular loops , which form a disulphide bond essential to fold the protein into the correct tertiary structure ; ( 3 ) a glutamic acid residue ( e113 ) that serves as the schiff ' s base counterion ; ( 4 ) a conserved ery [ w ] motif ( 134–136 ) , necessary to bind the α - subunit of transducin ; ( 5 ) a lysine ( k296 ) in the seventh transmembrane domain acting as a schiff ' s base linkage to the chromophore ; and ( 6 ) a conserved npxxy ( x ) 5 , 6 f motif ( 302–313 ) , containing a nkq motif ( 310–312 ) that assists in maintaining structural integrity upon photopigment activation . thus , unlike the situation for opn4m2 and tmt opsin , there is no evidence for disruptive mutations affecting these two cavefish opsins ( cavallari et al . , 2011 ) .
retinaldehyde . uv - vis spectroscopy of the reconstituted pigments revealed absorbance in the visible range for each pigment that was lost in favour of enhanced uv absorption following bright light exposure , indicating that both the rod and exo - rod pigments could be photo - bleached . the spectral sensitivity of these a
photopigments was defined by fitting the dark - bleach difference spectra with the govardovskii et al . (
dark - bleach difference spectrum for p . andruzzii ( a ) rod and ( b ) exo - rod opsin photopigments fitted with a 1 template ( govardovskii et al . , 2000 ) giving a rod pigment λ max of 508 nm and an exo - rod pigment λ max of 505 nm .
under the 644 nm monochromatic light . the threshold of sensitivity was lower for shorter wavelengths ( 453–550 nm : 10
mean ( ±s . d . ) percentage of time spent in the light zone in cavefish . each fish was tested at eight light irradiances for each monochromatic light . in constant darkness conditions , the fish spent the same percentage of time in both zones of the aquarium system ( paired student ' s t - test , t 9 = 0 . 76 , p > 0 . 4 ) .
in an attempt to determine whether either rod and / or exo - rod opsin photopigments could subserve the phototactic behaviour of this species , we next undertook a quantitative comparison of spectral sensitivity data for these pigments with that of the behavioural response . as both sequences were cloned from brain cdna , their spectral sensitivity
is influenced by the transmission properties of the overlying skin and skull . we therefore measured the spectral transmission properties for both the skin and the skull over the range of 300–800 nm (
) . this revealed a positive correlation between transmission and wavelength , with a marked dip around 400 nm , corresponding to the absorption of oxygenated haemoglobin .
( a ) spectral transmission properties of cavefish skin and skull over the range 300–800 nm . a positive correlation between transmission and wavelength was found , with a marked dip around 400 nm , corresponding to the absorption of oxygenated haemoglobin . ( b ) absorbance spectra for rod and exo - rod opsins corrected for predicted pre - receptoral filtering by the skin and skull . the spectra for the a
) . the relative sensitivities of the phototactic response at the three wavelengths tested ( 644 , 550 and 453 nm ) are shown as filled circles . those points depict the irradiance required to induce a half - maximal phototactic response ( ec
) . to determine whether these corrected spectra are consistent with the observed behavioural responses to 644 , 550 and 453 nm , we calculated the effective irradiance of each of the stimuli presented in the behavioural experiment for each pigment . this was achieved by multiplying the applied irradiance by the relative sensitivity of the pigment to that wavelength . if the behavioural response was driven by either of these pigments , the degree of photophobia should reflect this corrected irradiance , irrespective of wavelength . we therefore determined whether the behavioural data measured across all three wavelengths could be fitted with a single curve following such corrections . we found that this was not the case when corrections were applied based upon the predicted sensitivity of either rod opsin or exo - rod opsin (
= 528 and 524 nm for rod opsin and exo - rod opsin , respectively ) . these putative a
spectral sensitivity of these pigments would enable those data to be fit by a single curve . the irradiance–response relationships at the three wavelengths could be fit with a single curve (
- statistic was lowest for the exo - rod pigment ) . we therefore conclude that the a
versions of either or both of these pigments could underlie the observed behavioural spectral sensitivity .
the threshold of encephalic photoreception has been intensively investigated in eyed fish . for instance , the cyprinids phoxinus phoxinus and couesius plumbeus react behaviourally to light stimuli of 10 13 –10 12 quanta m −2 s −1 within a spectral range of 530–742 nm ( de la motte , 1964 ; kavaliers , 1980 ) . thus , the thresholds that we have reported in p . andruzzii are consistent with a hypothesis where encephalic photoreception represents the basis for negative phototaxis .
the rod and exo - rod opsin cdna sequences were both derived from brain tissue . although we have not determined the specific sites of expression of these two opsins in the brain of p . andruzzii , the presence of both is perhaps not unexpected given that immunolabelling with cern - 886 antibody has shown ‘rod opsin’ expression in both the pineal gland and habenula of the european minnow , p . phoxinus ( alvarez - viejo et al . , 2004 ) . expression of rod and exo - rod opsin in the pineal gland is variable amongst teleost species . the pineal glands of d . rerio ( mano et al . , 1999 ) , salmo salar ( philp et al . , 2000a ) and plecoglossus altivelis ( minamoto and shimizu , 2003 ) express only exo - rod opsin , whereas that of conger myriaster ( zhang et al . , 2002 ) expresses rod opsin . although the pineal gland of p . altivelis only expresses exo - rod opsin , rt - pcr has shown rod opsin to be expressed in the telencephalon and diencephalon ( masuda et al . , 2003 ) . though the light - detecting function of the p . andruzzii pineal gland remains unclear , preliminary neuroanatomical observations ( c . b . and e . f . , unpublished ) have revealed that this pineal gland is reduced in size compared with that of other teleosts .
our data cannot exclude the possibility that additional encephalic photopigments such as va - opsin ( philp et al . , 2000b ) or one of the various forms of melanopsin ( drivenes et al . , 2003 ; davies et al . , 2011 ) govern photobehavioural responses in p . andruzzii . however , a comparison of our molecular and behavioural data indicates that rod and exo - rod photopigments with a 2 as a chromophore could be responsible for negative phototaxis . interestingly , p . andruzzii is sympatric with the isopod acanthastenasellus forficuloides ( chelazzi and messana , 1985 ) and the amphipod afridiella pectinicauda ( ruffo , 1982 ) . phreatichthys andruzzii is a likely predator of both species and thus it is tempting to speculate that these crustaceans might serve as a natural dietary source of vitamin a 2 ( suzuki et al . , 1984 ) .
we are grateful to ron h . douglas ( city university london , uk ) for the spectral transmission assay of the skull and skin . we also thank andrea margutti for technical assistance .
this work was supported by funding from the university of ferrara [ to c . b . ] , the wellcome trust [ grant number
to r . j . l . and j . b . ] , the karlsruhe institute of technology [ to n . s . f . ] , and the vigoni program of the deutscher akademischer austausch dienst and the ateneo italo tedesco – ministero istruzione universitá ricerca [ to c . b . and n . s . f . ] . j . b . is grateful for support from the national institute for health research manchester biomedical research centre and the manchester academic health science centre . deposited in pmc for release after 6 months .
alvarez - viejo m . , cernuda - cernuda r . , alvarez - lópez c . , garcía - fernández j . m . ( 2004 ) .
cavallari n . , frigato e . , vallone d . , fröhlich n . , lopez - olmeda j . f . , foà a . , berti r . , sánchez - vázquez f . j . , bertolucci c . , foulkes n . s . ( 2011 ) .
foster r . g . , grace m . s . , provencio i . , degrip w . j . , garcia - fernandez j . m . ( 1994 ) .
palczewski k . , kumasaka t . , hori t . , behnke c . a . , motoshima h . , fox b . a . , le trong i . , teller d . c . , okada t . , stenkamp r . e . , et al . ( 2000 ) .
pasqualetti m . , bertolucci c . , ori m . , innocenti a . , magnone m . c . , de grip w . j . , nardi i . , foà a . ( 2003 ) .
philp a . r . , bellingham j . , garcia - fernandez j . , foster r . g . ( 2000a ) .
philp a . r . , garcia - fernandez j . m . , soni b . g . , lucas r . j . , bellingham j . , foster r . g . ( 2000b ) .
die lichtempfindlichkeit blinder elritzen . ( untersuchungen über das zwischenhirn der fische i . )
suzuki t . , makino - tasaka m . , eguchi e . ( 1984 ) .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd html 4 . 0 transitional / / en
hypogean fishes are susceptible to five main threats : habitat degradation , hydrological manipulations , environmental pollution , overexploitation , and introduced alien species . because they are endemic to small areas and have small populations , any threat could have serious consequences . for these reasons most populations have been considered ‘threatened’ or ‘vulnerable’ . international union for the conservation of nature , and natural resources has produced five red lists of threatened animals since 1977 and have listed seven , eight , 31 , 31 and 63 hypogean fishes , respectively , in some threat category . before 1994 the categories were qualitative and workers could assess the same species in different ways . in 1994 , a new set of quantitative categories were published . the 1996 list was the first to use these categories and three hypogean species were listed critically endangered , two endangered , 46 vulnerable and 12 data deficient . some of these categories are incorrect or inappropriate and most of the data deficient ones can now be categorised . all 85 known species are categorised here and reasons given for their placements . the current list has three critically endangered , none endangered , 73 vulnerable , four near threatened , one least concern and four data deficient . some species are relatively well known , others are poorly known . some are receiving conservation attention , most receive none . a few captive populations have been established , some of which are breeding . few populations could be restocked if extirpated . knowing where to direct conservation efforts is a problem since morphological ‘species’ are proving to be from more than one epigean invasion and therefore represent more than one species . hypogean fishes merit protection but they may not receive more than cursory protection .
banister , k . e . , j . bell & m . crumpler . 1992 . omani blind cave fish . aquar . pondk . ( july ) : 38–40 .
bruton , m . n . 1995a . have fishes had their chips ? the dilemma of threatened fishes . env . biol . fish . 43 : 1–27 .
bruun & kaiser , 1944 ( cyprinidae ) . env . biol . fish . 46 : 374 .
( pisces , amblyopsidae ) in the eastern mississippian plateau of kentucky . copeia 1972 : 879–881 .
cruickshank , g . , j . aguirre , d . kraemer & e . craviota . 1980 . bacterial contamination of the limestone aquifer beneath merida , mexico . pp . 341–345 .
r . e . jackson ( ed . ) , aquifer contamination and protection , project 8 . 3 of the international hydrological programme , unesco .
m . soule ( ed . ) conservation biology , the science of scarcity and diversity , sinauer associates , sunderland .
cunliffe , s . 1985 . the flora and fauna of sagittarius , an anchialine cave and lake in grand bahama . cave sci . 12 : 103–109 .
edwards , r . j . , g . longley , r . moss , j . ward , r . matthews & b . stewart . 1989 . a classification of texas aquatic communities with special consideration toward the conservation of endangered and threatened taxa . texas j . sci . 41 : 231–240 .
elliott , w . r . 2000 . conservation of the north american cave and karst biota . pp . 665–689 .
h . wilkens , d . c . culver & w . f . humphreys ( ed . ) ecosystems of the world , vol . 30 , subterranean ecosystems , elsevier , amsterdam .
ercolini , a . , r . berti , l . chelazzi & g . messana . 1982 . researches on the phreatobitic fishes of somalia : achievements and prospects . moni . zool . ital . ( suppl . ) 17 : 219–241 .
fischer , g . & g . k . heilig . 1997 . population momentum and the demand on land and water resources . phil . trans . roy . soc . lond . b 352 : 869–889 .
fowler , s . v . , p . chapman , d . checkley , s . hurd , m . mchale , g . s . ramangasan , j . e . randraimasy , p . stewart , r . walters & j . m . wilson . 1989 . survey and management proposals for a tropical deciduous forest reserve at ankarana in northern madagascar . biol . conserv . 47 : 297–313 .
humphreys , w . f . ( ed . ) 1993 . the biogeography of cape range , western australia . records of thewestern australian museum ( suppl . ) 45 : 1–248 .
humphreys , w . f . 1997 . protection of arid karstlands on the cape range peninsula , western australia . pp . 28–32 .
i . d . sasowsky , d . w . fong & e . l . white ( ed . ) conservation and protection of the biota of karst , karst waters institute special publication 3 , charles town .
humphreys , w . f . 1999 . the distribution of australian cave fishes . rec . west . austr . mus . 19 : 469–472 .
humphreys , w . f . & m . adams . 1991 . the subterranean aquatic fauna of the north west cape peninsula , western australia . rec . west . austr . mus . 15 : 383–411 .
huppert , g . n . 1995 . legal protection for caves in the united states . environ . geol . 26 : 121–123 .
iucn . 1988 . 1998 iucn red list of threatened animals . international union for the conservation of nature and natural resources , gland . 154 pp .
iucn . 1990 . the iucn red list of threatened animals . iucn – the world conservation union , gland . 192 pp .
iucn . 1993 . 1994 iucn red list of threatened animals . iucn , gland . 286 pp .
iucn . 1994 . iucn red list categories . iucn , gland . 21 pp .
iucn . 1996 . 1996 iucn red list of threatened animals . iucn , gland . 368 pp .
iucn / ssc criteria review working group . 1999 . iucn red list criteria review provisional report : draft of the proposed changes and recommendations . species ( 31–32 ) : 43–57 .
dekay , in indiana andkentucky and recommendations for its protection . nat . areas j . 8 : 69–79 .
( siluriformes , ictaluridae ) to their underground environment . copeia 1993 : 976–986 .
langecker , t . g . , h . wilkens & j . parzefall . 1996 . studies on the trophic structure of an energy - rich mexican cave ( cueva de las sardinas ) containing sulphurous water . mem . biospel . 23 : 121–125 .
lawton , j . h . & r . m . may ( ed . ) 1995 . extinction rates . oxford university press , oxford . 233 pp .
lisowski , e . a . & t . l . poulson . 1981 . impacts of lock and dam six on base level ecosystems in mammoth cave . cave res . found . ann . rept . : 48–54 .
means , m . & j . e . johnson . 1995 . movement of threatened ozark cavefish in logan cave national wildlife refuge , arkansas . southw . nat . 40 : 308–313 .
medina - gonzález , r . , g . proudlove , l . chumba - segura & t . iliffe . 2001 . threatened fishes of the world :
miller r . r . 1977 . iucn red data book 4 , freshwater fishes . iucn , gland . 77 pp .
: environment , distribution and evolution . sp . publ . mus . tex . tech . univ . ( 12 ) : 1–89 .
mylroie , j . & h . tronvig . 1998 . karstwaters institute creates top ten list of endangered karst ecosystems . nat . spel . soc . news 56 : 41–43 .
national caving association . 1997 . cave conservation handbook . national caving association , london ( various paging ) .
a . i . camacho ( ed . ) the natural history of biospeleology , monografias del museo nacional de ciencias naturales , madrid .
proudlove , g . s . 1984 . preliminary observations on the biology of inland blue holes , andros island , bahamas . cave sci . 11 : 53–56 .
proudlove , g . , r . medina - gonzález , l . chumba - segura & t . iliffe . 2001 . threatened fishes of the world :
quammen , d . 1996 . the song of the dodo . island biogeography in an age of extinctions . pimlico , london . 702 pp .
( pisces , characidae ) population at la cueva chica . bull . nat . spel . soc . 45 : 81–85 .
cooper & kuehne , 1974 ( amblyopsidae ) . env . biol . fish . 53 : 293–294 .
brittan & bohlke , 1965 ( characidae ) . env . biol . fish . 57 : 270 .
sbordoni , m . c . , e . dematthaeis , m . mattoccia , r . berti & v . sbordoni . 1996 . genetic variability and differentiation of hypogean cyprinid fishes from somalia . j . zool . syst . evol . res . 34 : 75–84 .
skelton , p . h . 1990 . the status of fishes from sinkholes and caves in namibia . namibia scient . soc . j . 42 : 75–83 .
tercafs , r . 1992 . the protection of the subterranean environment . conservation principles and management tools . pp . 481–524 .
a . i . camacho ( ed . ) , the natural history of biospeleology , monografias del museo nacional de ciencias naturales , madrid .
, troglobitic catfish from south - eastern brazil ( siluriformes , pimelodidae ) . env . biol . fish . 30 : 407–421 .
tronvig , k . & c . belson . 1999 . karst waters institute ' s second annual top ten list of endangered karst ecosystems . nat . spel . soc . news 57 : 265–267 .
vandike , j . e . 1984 . hydrogeologic aspects of the november 1981 liquid fertiliser pipeline break on groundwater in the meramec spring recharge area , phelps county , missouri .
proceedings of the 1984 national cave management symposium , missouri speleology 25 : 93–101 .
vorosmarty , c . j . , p . green , j . salisbury & r . b . lammers . 2000 . global water resources : vulnerability from climate change and population growth . science 289 : 284–288 .
varela , e . , o . barros & s . jimenez . 1980 . the effects of sugarwaste disposal on a karstic limestone aquifer . pp . 329–339 .
r . e . jackson ( ed . ) aquifer contamination and protection , project 8 . 3 of the international hydrological programme , unesco , paris .
walsh , s . j . 2000 . conservation of aquatic karst biotas : shedding light on troubled waters , essay 15 . pp . 106–108 .
r . a . abell , d . m . olson , e . dinerstein , p . t . hurley , j . t . diggs , w . eichbaum , s . walters , w . wettengel , t . allnutt , c . j . loucks & p . hedao ( ed . ) freshwater ecoregions of north america : a conservation assessment , island press , washington , d . c .
walters , l . h . & v . walters . 1965 . laboratory observations on a cavernicolous poeciliid from tabasco , mexico . copeia 1965 : 214–223 .
watson , j . , e . hamilton - smith , d . gillieson & k . kiernan ( ed . ) 1997 . guidelines for cave and karst protection . iucn , gland . 63 pp .
( characidae , pisces ) : support for the neutral mutation theory . evol . biol . 23 : 271–367 .
winograd , i . j . & f . n . robertson . 1982 . deep oxygenated groundwater : anomaly or common occurrence ? science 216 : 1227–1230 .
yager , j . 1981 . remipedia , a newclass of crustacea from a marine cave in the bahamas . j . crust . biol . 1 : 328–333 .
yager , j . & d . williams . 1988 . predation by grey snapper on cave bats in the bahamas . bull . mar . sci . 43 : 102–103 .
young , m . 1986 . bringing the blind gudgeon into captivity . j . austr . new guin . fishes ass . 4 : 145–148 .
proudlove , g . s . environmental biology of fishes ( 2001 ) 62 : 201 . urltoken
the lower congo river ecoregion extends from the mouth of the congo river upstream to just below the mounts cristal rapids at matadi , and also includes left - bank tributaries to the congo river mainstem between matadi and kinshasa . the ecoregion extends from banana to matadi and is located in the southern part of the mayombe mountains , which run parallel to the coast all the way from northern angola to gabon . formerly classified as separate ecoregions , the lower congo ecoregion now includes the thysville caves complex located just south of the mainstem congo and downstream of malebo pool .
the main water body in this ecoregion is the congo river , with a few large tributaries , such as the mpozo and lufu , entering at its left bank . the largest of these tributaries is the inkisi river . the subterranean thysville caves complex consists of two suites of caves ( banister 1986 ) located on two separate congo tributary systems . although the fauna inhabiting the caves is quite similar , they do not appear to possess subterranean connections to each other .
the cave region lies at about 600 - 800 m above sea level , while the surrounding land is relatively even and flat and sits at about 500 m above sea level .
the climate of the ecoregion is tropical and humid with a rainy season from october to may and a dry season from june to september . the rainfall regime is bimodal with a peak in november and another in march . average annual rainfall is 1 , 888 mm and average annual temperature is 23 . 8°c .
the lower congo river below the mounts cristal rapids has a discharge rate that varies between 3 - 5 x 10 4 m 3 / sec at low flow and 6 - 7 . 5 x 10 4 m 3 / sec at high flow . the river is 9 . 5 km wide at its mouth and its freshwater flow continues through a deep channel into a submarine canyon offshore . the congo river discharges an estimated 35 , 427 , 000 tons of dissolved substances into the ocean each year , and a plume of brown river water extends for over 80 km offshore ( bailey 1986 ) . the flood regime of the tributaries depends on local rains . however , when the congo river is in full flood , it backs up the inflowing water from the tributaries and creates large pools in the tributary mouths ( mutambwe - shango 1984 ) . the flood regime of the congo follows the bimodal pattern of the rains , with flood flows from october to december and from february to april .
in the dark environment of the subterranean streams of the thysville caves , photosynthesis is not possible ; the energy supply providing the foundation for the cave’s food chain comes instead from allochthonous inputs from the surrounding forest .
vegetation is a mixture of dense guinean - congolian moist forest and guinean - congolian grasslands .
the ecoregion is moderately rich in fish , aquatic herpetofauna , and aquatic molluscs . over thirty frogs and reptiles are known from this ecoregion’s fresh waters and seventeen molluscs . five of the molluscs are endemic ( lanistes congicus , l . intortus , funduella incisa , hydrobia luvilana , and potadoma schoutendeni ) .
several aquatic mammals , molluscs , and waterbirds live above ground in thysville caves region . inhabitants include the marsh mongoose ( atilax paludinosus ) and the molluscs etheria elliptica and lentorbis benguelensis . birds include the egyptian goose ( alopochen aegyptiacus ) , spur - winged goose ( plectropterus gambensis ) , and african pygmy - goose ( nettapus auritus ) .
this ecoregion is defined by the lower course of the congo river below the mounts cristal rapids , including the thysville caves system , and is characterized by a mix of brackish and freshwater species .
poor . reasonably good collections exist for this ecoregion but they need to be studied and catalogued . mutambwe - shango ( 1984 ) completed a hydrobiological study of the luki reserve , located north of matadi . the thysville caves are poorly known scientifically and should be re - surveyed ( kamdem - toham et al . 2003 ) .
this species is native to central west africa where it is principally found in the great ogooué and congo river systems . it therefore has an extensive range and has been recorded at numerous localities right across the democratic republic of congo ( drc ) from the ituri river in the far east of the country to the luki river basin in the extreme west .


the greater noctule bat ( nyctalus lasiopterus ) is a rare bat found in europe , west asia , and north africa .

it is the largest and least studied bat in europe with a wingspan of up to 46 centimetres ( 18 in ) and is one of the few bat species to feed on passerine birds .

greater noctule bats are the only bat species to hunt birds on the wing rather than when roosting .

the greater noctule bat has wings adapted for open-air hunting and uses echolocation frequencies above the hearing range of birds .

greater noctule bat

dondini , g . and vergari , s . , carnivory in the greater noctule bat (
our resident breeding species are : alcathoe bat ; barbastelle ; bechstein ' s bat ; brandt ' s bat ; brown long - eared bat ; common pipistrelle ; daubenton ' s bat ; greater horseshoe bat ; grey long - eared bat ; leisler ' s bat ; lesser horseshoe bat ; nathusius ' pipistrelle ; natterer ' s bat ; noctule ; serotine ; soprano pipistrelle ; and whiskered bat .
tian b , schnitzler h . u . echolocation signals of the greater horseshoe bat (
the greater noctule is almost exclusively a tree - dwelling species but is also known to roost in bat boxes and parts of buildings like chimneys .
the greater noctule bat is currently on the iucn red list of threatened species as ' near threatened ' , and is classified as ' vulnerable ' in spain ( ministerio de medio ambiente , 2006 ) . no other country in europe has a specific endangered status for the greater noctule bat .
) . the greater noctule bat generally leaves its roost to forage after it is already completely dark outside , this coincides with the general time that the two mentioned owl species hunt . there is also some risk to the greater noctule from parasitism between bats .
] . such a unique specialization likely evolved in a formerly insectivorous / omnivorous species . it was shown , for the seasonally carnivorous greater noctule bat (
1 ) to check localities of ukraine where greater noctule was found in past in ukraine ( 5 loc . ) ;
but it seems that birds crossing the mediterranean during spring and summer provide a tasty meal for the greater noctule bat , one of the continent ' s rarest mammals .
greater noctule ( nyctalus lasiopterus ) is one of the rarest bat species in europe . 29–30 . 07 . 2009 in chernobyl exclusion zone ( the north ukraine ) a young male of greater noctule was caught . it was the first record of this species in ukraine after more than 50 years . we have analyzed all available data ( since 1898 till now ) on greater noctule in ukraine . our data suggest that population of greater noctule is in ukraine in critical condition . the distance between outermost localities in ukraine where the greater noctule was ever found in breeding season is near 770 km w–e and 280 km n–s , amounting to near 200 000 km2 of total area in the middle of xx century .
2 ) to study deeply the locality in chernobyl zone where greater noctule was found in 2009 ( including study of roost sites ) .
the greater noctule bat belongs to the suborder microchiroptera and uses echolocation . echolocation is a perceptual system where echoes are produced by emitting ultrasonic sounds . echolocation allows bats to compare the outgoing pulse with returning echoes which produces detailed images of the bat ' s surroundings . with echolocation , bats are able to detect , localize and classify their prey in complete darkness . the greater noctule bat has been observed as only emerging from its roosts after dusk when it is completely dark . the greater noctule bat has a high quality of hearing and smell however its eyes are poorly developed .
dondini , g . and vergari , s . ( 2000 ) carnivory in the greater noctule bat ( nyctalus lasiopterus ) in italy . journal of zoology , 251 : 233 - 236 .
the noctule bat , the uk ' s largest native species , prefers hollow trees , and feeds on beetles .
the greater noctule bat ( nyctalus lasiopterus ) , which weighs 35 - 53g with a wingspan of over 45cm , is europe’s largest and rarest bat . unlike all other bats in gibraltar its diet does not consist exclusively of insects . the greater noctule also regularly preys on passerine birds which account for over 80 % of its diet during the birds’ migration periods . it is also the only species of bat known to hunt birds in flight rather than capturing them when roosting .
able to wrap its wings completely around its body while at rest , differing from the greater horseshoe bat whose face can usually be seen .
also known as the ' hairy - armed bat ' , it ' s similar to the noctule but smaller with longer fur .
this bat is generally a little larger than the brown long - eared bat and has a dark face .
however , only one specimen was found there after that . it exhibits that population of greater noctule either is in critical state , or unstudied . data on gomolshansky forest ( kharkov region , the north - eastern ukraine ) suggest that situation is really critical , as over a 40–80 years period greater noctule gradually disappeared from the forest . information from iucn website in greater noctule concern is limited : “the population trend is unknown” and “more information is needed on population size and trends , ecology , and potential threats . ”
mammal records mainly from snowdonia national park but also from elsewhere in north west wales , and perhaps increasingly from north east wales . records of the following species : american mink , badger , bank vole , brown hare , brown rat , common shrew , dormouse , fallow deer , feral ferret , feral goat , field vole , fox , grey squirrel , harvest mouse , hedgehog , house mouse , mole , muntjac deer , otter , pine marten , polecat , pygmy shrew , rabbit , red deer , red squirrel , roe deer , sika deer , stoat , water shrew , water vole , weasel , wood mouse , yellow - necked mouse , barbastelle bat , bechsteins bat , brown long - eared bat , common pipistrelle bat , daubentons bat , greater horseshoe bat , leislers bat , lesser horseshoe bat , nathusius pipistrelle bat , natterers bat , noctule bat , serotine bat , soprano pipistrelle bat , whiskered / brandts bat , ponies .
embed this arkive thumbnail link (
portlet
) by copying and pasting the code below . < a href =
urltoken
title =
arkive video - noctule bat - overview
> < img src =
urltoken
alt =
arkive video - noctule bat - overview
title =
arkive video - noctule bat - overview
border =
0
/ > < / a >
von der emde g , schnitzler h . - u . classification of insects by echolocating greater horseshoe bats .
embed this arkive thumbnail link (
portlet
) by copying and pasting the code below . < a href =
urltoken
title =
arkive species - noctule bat ( nyctalus noctula )
> < img src =
urltoken
alt =
arkive species - noctule bat ( nyctalus noctula )
title =
arkive species - noctule bat ( nyctalus noctula )
border =
0
/ > < / a >
gb - level population trends for noctule from the field survey are shown on this page .
a rare and distinctive bat with a pug - like face and large , wide ears . you can help monitor this bat !
some bat species have been drastically reduced . there were an estimated 300 , 000 greater horseshoe bats in 1900 , but probably just 3 , 000 or so by the late 1980s .
sonogram ( left ) and power spectrum ( right ) of a typical echolocation call of the greater noctule , n . lasiopterus . pulse duration is 18 . 2 ms and peak frequency is 19 . 2 khz .
pipistrelle numbers fell by 60 % between 1978 and 1986 . greater and lesser horseshoe bats are endangered , the barbastelle is very poorly known and the mouse - eared bat became extinct in 1991 .
with a robust body and a wingspan of 410 - 460mm , the greater noctule bat is the largest european bat . its snout and ears are broad and its fur is dense , long and reddish brown . this tree - dwelling species is dependent on mature forests and roosts in holes of deciduous trees throughout the year . the diet of the greater noctule largely consists of moths , dragonflies and beetles . however , droppings samples have indicated that the species also preys on small passarines , such as robins and wood warblers , during seasonal migration . its thin wings allow for a fast and direct flight also at high altitudes .
the giant noctule is classified as near threatened ( nt ) on the iucn red list ( 1 ) .
schuller g , pollak g . disproportionate frequency representation in the inferior colliculus of doppler compensating greater horseshoe bats . evidence for an acoustic fovea .
noctule is relatively common and widespread in england , wales , and southern scotland . it is absent from northern ireland
europe ' s largest bat snacks on flying birds , say scientists in spain .
jensen m . e , miller l . a . echolocation signals of the bat
in 1995 the uk government launched the five - year national bat monitoring programme , designed to develop an effective monitoring strategy for bat species resident in the uk .
this article reports a new record of the greater noctule nyctalus lasiopterus ( schreber , 1780 ) in the late pleistocene of europe . a fragment of a left mandible from this species was collected in layer o ( around 55 ka ) from the abric romaní rock shelter , providing evidence of the presence of the greater noctule in north - eastern spain during the latest late pleistocene . the relevance of this new record , which is geographically not reported up to now in the area , is discussed in terms of environmental changes .
an analysis of 59 droppings of the greater noctule nyctalus lasiopterus , collected either during direct handling of the bat or from the bat - boxes used as shelters in the pian di novello natural reserve ( tuscany , italy ) , has shown that it is a partial carnivore . the content of the samples , collected in october and november of 1995 and in september and october of 1996 and 1997 , consisted mainly of bird feathers identified as those of the robin erithacus rubecula and the blue tit parus caeruleus . the presence of feathers during the 3 consecutive years of the study period confirms that the diet of the greater noctule in this area is not based exclusively on arthropods as was previously suggested .
you can play the calls of 6 different types of bat found in britain . these calls were recorded on bat walks using a special bat detector . click on the picture of the bat to hear its call . you can click on the bat names to find out more about each species . can you hear the difference between the bats ? have you heard any of these bats when out on a bat walk ? don ' t forget ! you will need the sound on your computer turned on !
estók , p . , gombkötő , p . and cserkész , t . ( 2007 ) roosting behaviour of the greater noctule nyctalus lasiopterus schreber , 1780 ( chiroptera , vespertilionidae ) in hungary as revealed by radio - tracking . mammalia , 71 : 86 - 88 .
siemers b . m , schnitzler h . - u . natterer ' s bat (
the latest addition to the uk bat family , only being confirmed as a resident species in 2010 due to its similarity to the whiskered and brandt ' s bat species .
very similar to the whiskered bat , only being separated as distinct species in 1970 .
fullard j . h , dawson j . w . the echolocation calls of the spotted bat
known as the ' water bat ' , daubenton ' s bats fish insects from the water ' s surface with their large feet or tail . you can help monitor this bat !
bats and the law - a quick guide . bat conservation trust ( august , 2002 ) urltoken
altes r . a , titlebaum e . l . bat signals as optimally doppler tolerant waveforms .
petit , e . and mayer , f . ( 1999 ) male dispersal in the noctule bat ( nyctalus noctula ) : where are the limits ? . proceedings of the royal society of london b , 266 : 1717 - 1722 .
although being an average size bat , it is the smallest species of the genus nyctalus found in continental portugal . the characteristics that differentiate the lesser noctule are the shorter forearm ( less than 46mm ) and the presence of bicolour hair .
the greater noctule bat has a robust skull and its rostrum is square with an ordinary nasal slit . the zygomatic arches are very slender and the braincase is smooth , turned upwards . the sagittal crest is not present , while the lambdoid crest is well developed . most of the projecting point of the skull is made up of exoccipital condyles . the basisphenoid is wide and deep and the tympanic bullae are relatively small .
he said an analysis of the bat ' s droppings revealed that it captured and ate large number of migrating birds
making it the only bat species so far known that regularly preys on birds
.
this bat has long narrow wings and flies in a straight line , very high and fast . it ' s our biggest bat , but it ' s still smaller than the palm of your hand !
embed this arkive thumbnail link (
portlet
) by copying and pasting the code below . < a href =
urltoken
title =
arkive species - giant noctule ( nyctalus lasiopterus )
> < img src =
urltoken
alt =
arkive species - giant noctule ( nyctalus lasiopterus )
title =
arkive species - giant noctule ( nyctalus lasiopterus )
border =
0
/ > < / a >
in britain , bats benefit from a very comprehensive level of legal protection ( 4 ) . under the wildlife and countryside act it is illegal to intentionally kill , injure , take or sell a bat , posses a live bat or part of a bat , to intentionally ( or in england and wales , recklessly ) damage , obstruct or destroy access to bat roosts . under the conservation regulations it is an offence to damage or destroy breeding sites or resting places . fines of up to £5 , 000 for every bat affected , and up to six months imprisonment are in place for these offences ( 3 ) . several species of bat can also benefit by bat boxes put up by the public , which can provide roosting sites .
the rare barbastelle bat likes to roost behind pieces of bark , and depends on small moths . the pipistrelle , the smallest british bat , has been known to eat 3 , 000 midges in a single night .
yiğit , n . , bulut , ş . , karataş , a . , çam , p . and saygili , f . ( 2008 ) contribution to the distribution , morphological peculiarities , and karyology of the greater noctule , nyctalus lasiopterus ( chiroptera : vespertilionidae ) , in southwestern turkey . turkish journal of zoology , 32 : 53 - 58 .
dondini , g . and vergari , s . , bats : bird - eaters or feather - eaters ? a contribution to debate on great noctule carnivory ,
every summer , thousands of people venture out to experience the wonder of bats in their natural environment . sadly , bat populations have suffered severe declines during the past century , but the bat conservation trust and more than 100 local bat groups are working hard to help our bats hang on . learn more about where to see bats !
marimuthu g , neuweiler g . the use of acoustical cues for prey detection by the indian false vampire bat ,
bontadina , f . and arlettaz , r . , a heap of feathers does not make a bat’s diet ,
occurs throughout much of europe including england and wales , but the noctule bat is absent from northern scotland , ireland , and north scandinavia ( 5 ) . although it has a fairly wide distribution in england and wales , it is not a common species ( 7 ) .
the noctule bat favours open habitats ( 7 ) and is found in woodland , large parks ( 2 ) , wetlands , pasture land and large gardens ( 7 ) . maternity colonies occur mainly in tree - holes , summer roosts have also been found in bat boxes , hollow streetlights , and bridges . hibernation takes place in hollow trees , crevices in rocks , and buildings ( 2 ) .
this bat was officially declared extinct in 1990 , but a solitary individual has been hibernating in southern england since 2002 .
siemers b . m , schnitzler h . - u . echolocation signals reflect niche differentiation in five sympatric congeneric bat species .
pavey , c . r . and burwell , c . j . , the diet of the diadem leaf - nosed bat
] . a decay index greater than ten is considered as strong support for a specific node . automated cluster recognition via the
generalized mixed yule - coalescent
( gmyc ) approach with multiple threshold extension was used [
an unexpected , but very welcome encounter with a noctule bat in the early afternoon at eyebrook reservoir , leicestershire . the animal had briefly been seen in flight coming in low over the water before , much to our surprise , landed on the exposed ledge of an ancient bridge and promptly had a good preen .
. . . on the other hand , the use of molecular techniques has increased the accuracy of prey identification in bat diet studies even to the species level ( zeale et al . , 2011 ) . the giant noctule bat ( nyctalus lasiopterus ) was found to be the first palaearctic bat to feed on flying passerines after the discovery of feathers in their faecal pellets ( dondini and vergari , 2000 ; ibáñez et al . , 2001 ) . small birds are preyed upon during their fall and spring migrations ( ibáñez et al . , 2001 ) . . . .
holland r . a , waters d . a , rayner j . m . v . echolocation signal structure in the megachiropteran bat
a previous migrant species , it has only been classed as a resident species since 1997 . you can help monitor this bat !
two conservation groups , the woodland trust and the bat conservation trust , are working to raise awareness of the animals ' plight .
the giant noctule ( nyctalus lasiopterus ) is the largest bat species in europe , and one of the largest bats in the world to catch its prey in flight ( 3 ) ( 4 ) . it is also one of the rarest and most poorly known european bats ( 4 ) ( 5 ) ( 6 ) .
other evidence came from the bat ' s flight performance and the range and frequency of sound waves it used to capture its prey .
this image illustrates the relatively large size of some prey items included in the diet of this bat ( photo by christian ziegler ) .
siemers bm , schnitzler hu ( 2004 ) echolocation signals reflect niche differentiation in five sympatric congeneric bat species . nature 429 : 657–661 .
tuttle md , ryan mj ( 1981 ) bat predation and the evolution of frog vocalizations in the neotropics . science 214 : 677 .
other potential threats to the giant noctule are poorly understood , but wind farms may pose a collision risk in some areas ( 1 ) , and this species may also be affected by a reduction in its insect prey ( 7 ) . in 2005 , all pups at one of two known giant noctule colonies in spain were found dead , but the cause was unknown ( 1 ) .
there are a number of other non - resident bat species that occasionally make apperances on our shores having blown over from the continent , notably kuhl ' s pipistrelle and parti - coloured bat . you can find out more about our vagarant species in the vagrant species factsheet .
o ' neill w . e . the bat auditory cortex . in : popper a . n , fay r . r , editors .
popa - lisseanu , a . g . , bontadina , f . , and ibáñez , c . , giant noctule bats face conflicting constraints between roosting and foraging in a fragmented and heterogeneous landscape ,
this is an x - post from / r / batfacts . come join us for bat appreciation month as we celebrate these spooky flying mammals .
siemers b . m , kalko e . k . v , schnitzler h . - u . echolocation behavior and signal plasticity in the neotropical bat
mcaney , c . , shiel , c . , sullivan , c . , and fairley , j . , the analysis of bat droppings ,
one of our rarest bats , found in parts of southern england and south east wales . find out about our bechstein ' s bat project .
although it feeds on a variety of insects year - round , the giant noctule is unique among bats in also hunting small birds at certain times of the year . birds , usually small passerines , are taken during their annual migrations from march to may and august to november , when they are likely to form a major part of the giant noctule’s diet ( 1 ) ( 3 ) ( 9 ) ( 10 ) . little is currently known about how the giant noctule captures birds , but it is believed to catch them in flight , possibly at high altitudes , as they migrate at night ( 3 ) ( 9 ) ( 11 ) . so far , this is the only bat species known to hunt birds in this way ( 3 ) ( 9 ) .
the trend from the field survey shows no significant change in the smoothed index since the baseline year . the population of noctule in great britain is considered to have been stable over the period 1999 - 2016 .
shiel , c . , mcaney , c . , sullivan , c . , and fairley , j . , identification of arthropod fragments in bat droppings ,
these examples of convergent evolution in echolocation behaviour highlight the importance of environmental factors in shaping bat sonar signals . bats that feed in similar situations evolve similar designs of echolocation signals despite being distantly related to one another . physical factors , such as the influence of target size on call frequency , the effect of clutter on bandwidth , the impact of target proximity on pulse duration and the pulse interval all influence the design of bat echolocation signals in ways that can often override phylogenetic constraints . understanding the genetic factors that underpin the diversity in bat echolocation behaviour has become a tangible challenge now that entire sequences of bat genomes are becoming available ( see
in this study , we therefore estimated the breeding origin of nyctalus noctula killed at wind turbines in eastern germany . this aerial - hawking insectivorous bat may cover distances of up to 1 , 600 km during its annual migrations [ 16 ] and individuals are found dead below german wind turbines more often than any other bat species ( dürr 2009 cited in [ 5 ] ) . here , we used a stable isotope approach to determine the percentage of local and migratory noctule bats killed at wind turbines and to assess the breeding provenance of migrating individuals .
holderied m . w , korine c , fenton m . b , parsons s , robson s , jones g . echolocation call intensity in the aerial hawking bat
the bat conservation trust says a lack of historical data means that
population trends of the 16 species of bats are , in general , poorly known
.
two important colonies of the giant noctule occur in south - western spain , but are not located within protected areas and are in need of conservation attention ( 1 ) . proposed conservation measures for these colonies include providing artificial roost sites , which would offer a temporary solution until long - term forest regeneration can be achieved ( 5 ) . further research is also needed into the giant noctule’s ecology and populations , and more information is required on the threats it faces ( 1 ) .
springer m . s , teeling e . c , madsen o , stanhope m . j , de jong w . w . integrated fossil and molecular data reconstruct bat echolocation .
citation : lehnert ls , kramer - schadt s , schönborn s , lindecke o , niermann i , voigt cc ( 2014 ) wind farm facilities in germany kill noctule bats from near and far . plos one 9 ( 8 ) : e103106 . urltoken
the fur of the giant noctule is uniformly dark brown on the upperparts and paler on the underparts . the hairs on the neck are longer and slightly darker than on the rest of the body , and the forearm and underside of the wing membrane are furred . the giant noctule has a broad muzzle and large but relatively short ears , with a short , broad , mushroom - shaped tragus . the tip of the tail protrudes around one to two millimetres from the end of the tail membrane ( 2 ) .
popa - lisseanu , a . g . , bontadina , f . and ibáñez , c . ( 2009 ) giant noctule bats face conflicting constraints between roosting and foraging in a fragmented and heterogeneous landscape . journal of zoology , 278 : 126 - 133 .
these findings are very interesting and surprising ,
said andreas streit , executive secretary of unep - ( united nations environment programme ) eurobats , which monitors bat conservation in europe .
hutterer r , ivanova t , meyer - cordes c , rodrigues l ( 2005 ) bat migrations in europe – a review of banding data and literature . naturschutz biologie vielfalt 28 .
schorcht w , bontadina f , schaub m ( 2009 ) variation of adult survival drives population dynamics in a migrating forest bat . j anim ecol 78 ( 6 ) : 1182–1190 .
the proportion of feathers in samples collected at the bat colony was significantly correlated ( r s = 0 . 738 , p = 0 . 035 ) with the presence of small migrating passerines in this region of spain ( 12 ) during the migration period ( fig . 1 b ) . the pattern in this roosting colony even reflected the first peak corresponding to the earliest trans - saharan birds crossing the area in mid september ( 12 ) . in addition , the proportion of feathers in the bats netted in la rioja increased corresponding to increases in the number of migrating birds through august ( fig . 2 ) . the delay in the increases in the proportion of feathers in autumn between the two sampling sites ( 700 km apart ) is consistent with the earlier massive passage of migrants at the northern site ( fig . 1 b ) . these results show that the greater noctule is the first known bat regularly preying on passerines during their seasonal migration .
steffens r , zöphel u , brockmann d ( 2004 ) 40th anniversary bat marking centre dresden - evaluation of methods and overview of results . sächsisches landesamt für umwelt und geologie . 132 .
we are lucky enough to have 18 species of bat in the uk , 17 of which are known to be breeding here - that ' s almost a quarter of our mammal species .
differences in breeding strategies of nyctalus can take place at relatively small geographical scales . the boundary between populations exhibiting different migratory and reproductive strategies in iberia , and in southern europe in general , is unclear and an overlap could exist . until new techniques help refine our knowledge of bat migration in europe , the factors determining landscape movements in european bat populations will remain an open question .
cet article rapporte une nouvelle mention fossile pour la noctule géante nyctalus lasiopterus ( schreber , 1780 ) dans le pléistocène supérieur d’europe . un fragment de mandibule gauche appartenant à cette espèce a été récolté dans le niveau o ( environ 55 ka ) de l’abric romaní apportant la preuve de la présence de la noctule géante dans le nord - est de l’espagne pendant le pléistocène supérieur final . l’importance de cette découverte , située en dehors de la distribution géographique actuelle connue pour l’espèce en espagne , est commentée et mise en relation avec des changements environnementaux .
fleming th : the short - tailed fruit bat : a study in plant - animal interactions . 1988 , chicago univ press , 1 - 380 . [ wildlife behavior and ecology series ] .
ibáñez , c . , juste , j . , garcia - mudarra , j . l . , and agirre - mendi , p . t . , bat predation on nocturnally migrating birds ,
like all bats , the noctule bat is vulnerable to a number of threats , including the loss of roost sites ; hollow trees are often felled if thought unsafe or ' untidy ' . habitat change and loss , affecting the availability of insect prey and causing the fragmentation of feeding habitat is a serious problem for many bats , furthermore pesticide use has devastating effects , by causing severe declines in insect prey abundance , and contaminating food with potentially fatal toxins ( 4 ) .
it roosts in natural tree holes and in holes made by woodpeckers . this species , however , can also use artificial structures as shelters . it usually flies in open spaces or above tree canopies . this species shows greater activity in montados , oak forests , and areas of riparian vegetation , while seeming to avoid urban areas or areas of intense agriculture .
carlos ibáñez , antonio guillén , pablo t . agirre - mendi , javier juste , godfried schreur , ana i . cordero , ana g . popa - lisseanu ; sexual segregation in iberian noctule bats , journal of mammalogy , volume 90 , issue 1 , 18 february 2009 , pages 235–243 , urltoken
you are now subscribed to r / batfacts ! we will send you amazing bat facts twice every day ! if you would like to stop receiving these messages and unsubscribe from r / batfacts send the text nomorebatfacts .
. . . the signature of the bat ' s blood isotopic composition peaked during spring and autumn , coinciding with the periods in which feathers appear in the droppings and matching the birds migration patterns ( popa - lisseanu et al . , 2007 ) . never theless , species composition of the avian diet of this bat remains unknown since almost all the remains consist on little fragments of feathers ( dondini and vergari , 2000 ) that do not allow further morphological identification . our objectives in this research are : i ) to test if different preservation methods of faecal samples and / or storage time affect dna preservation , ii ) to develop an efficient protocol for dna extraction from bat faeces and iii ) to search for diagnostic mtdna fragments that amplifying only avian dna against other dnas present in the bat scats , allowing birds identification at species level . . . .
winter y : energetic cost of hovering flight in a nectar - feeding bat measured with fast - response respirometry . j comp physiol b . 1998 , 168 : 434 - 444 . 10 . 1007 / s003600050163 .
tuttle md , ryan mj : bat predation and the evolution of frog vocalizations in the neotropics . science . 1981 , 214 : 677 - 678 . 10 . 1126 / science . 214 . 4521 . 677 .
rydell j , bach l , dubourg - savage mj , green m , rodriguez l , et al . ( 2010 ) bat mortality at wind turbines in northwestern europe . acta . chiropterol . 12 : 261–274 .
the giant noctule has a patchy distribution and relatively few breeding colonies are known , most of which are quite small ( 1 ) . the main threat to this species is deforestation , with the removal of old trees in particular causing population declines through the loss of roosting sites ( 1 ) ( 6 ) .
noctule bats produce echolocation calls of frequencies between 25 and 45 khz ( 5 ) . they emerge relatively early , often when it is still light ( 2 ) . they hunt for moths , beetles and other large flying insects with fast , high flight , making rapid turns and diving frequently ( 2 ) .
the noctule bat ( nyctalus noctula ) is one of the largest bats in europe ( 7 ) . it has long , narrow wings ( 2 ) , and the short fur lies close to the body . the back is reddish - brown and develops a glossy sheen during summer . the belly is a duller , lighter brown ( 2 ) . juveniles are darker than adults , and have pale brown backs ( 2 ) . the wing membranes , nose and broad triangular - shaped ears are blackish - brown ( 2 ) .
ibáñez c , juste j , garcía - mudarra jl , agirre - mendi pt : bat predation on nocturnally migrating birds . pnas . 2001 , 98 : 9700 - 9702 . 10 . 1073 / pnas . 171140598 .
cryan pm , bogan ma , rye ro , landis gp , kester cl ( 2004 ) stable hydrogen isotope analysis of bat hair as evidence for seasonal molt and long - distance migration . j mammal 85 : 995–1001 .
cryan pm , wolf bo ( 2003 ) sex differences in the thermoregulation and evaporative water loss of a heterothermic bat , lasiurus cinereus , during its spring migration . journal of experimental biology 206 ( 19 ) : 3381–3390 .
baker rj , hood cs , honeycutt rl : phylogenetic relationship and classification of the higher categories of the new world bat family phyllostomidae . syst zool . 1989 , 38 : 228 - 238 . 10 . 2307 / 2992284 .
habitat characteristics and foraging strategy constrain echolocation and flight performance of bats and specific echolocation parameters and wing characteristics are associated to each habitat and feeding strategy ( 5 , 11 , 13 ) . carnivorous bats that use a combination of ground / foliage gleaning and a perched hunting strategy show typical wing morphology ( relative wing loading < 36 , and aspect ratio < 6 . 3 ) corresponding to low speed and highly maneuverable flights in cluttered habitats ( 6 ) . the greater noctule has a very different relative wing loading ( 41 . 8 ± 3 . 9 ; n = 12 ) and aspect ratio ( 7 . 2 ± 0 . 3 , n = 12 ) , indicating fast and poorly maneuverable flight in open areas .
and cyprus ( benda et al . 2007 ) . the species is easy to detect with bat detectors , so it is known that the species ' distribution in europe is genuinely extremely patchy . until 1999 , it had been recorded in 120 - 130 localities in europe ( benzal 1999 ) . it occurs up to 1 , 900 m asl in switzerland . recent new records of the giant noctule include northern italian peninsula ( province of venice , vernier et al . 2008 ) and croatian islands ( kornati archipelago , kovač et al . 2011 ) .
) . regarding convergence , high duty cycle echolocation has appeared twice . this most sophisticated form of biosonar—the use of long constant frequency signals terminated by broadband sweeps—evolved independently in the horseshoe bats ( rhinolophidae : yinpterochiroptera ) and in the moustached bat
ibáñez , c . , juste , j . , garcia - mudarra , j . l . , and agirre - mendi , p . t . , feathers as indicator of a bat’s diet : a reply to bontadina and arlettaz ,
kalko ekv , schnitzler hu ( 1998 ) how echolocating bats approach and acquire food . in : kunz th , racey , pa , editors . bat biology and conservation . washington , dc : smithsonian institution press . pp . 197–204 .
the noctule bat is classified as least concern ( lc ) on the iucn red list ( 1 ) . in great britain , all bats are fully protected under schedule 5 of the wildlife and countryside act ( 1981 ) as amended , and by the conservation ( natural habitats etc ) regulations ( 1994 ) . an agreement on the conservation of bats in europe ( eurobats ) under the auspices of the bonn convention , also known as the convention on migratory species ( cms ) is in force , and all european bats are listed under appendix ii of the cms ( 4 ) .
the giant noctule gives birth to a single pup ( 1 ) , between late may and early june ( 4 ) . the females gather in small ‘maternity’ colonies to give birth , while males roost separately ( 1 ) ( 7 ) . the maternity colonies of the giant noctule usually number up to 35 females ( 1 ) and have a ‘fission - fusion’ society , in which a group of females is spread over a number of roosting trees and individuals change between the roosts on a daily basis . overall , its members form a cohesive social group which is distinct from neighbouring groups . young females return in successive years to breed in the group into which they were born ( 4 ) .
hedenström a , johansson lc , wolf m , busse r , winter y , spedding gr : bat flight generates complex aerodynamic tracks . science . 2007 , 316 ( 5826 ) : 894 - 897 . 10 . 1126 / science . 1142281 .
kalko e ( 2004 ) neotropical leaf - nosed bats ( phyllostomidae ) :
whispering
bats or candidates for acoustic survey . in : brigham m , jones g , kalko e , editors . austin : bat conservation international . pp . 63–69 .
von helversen o , winter y : glossophagine bats and their flowers : costs and benefits for plants and pollinators . bat ecology . edited by : kunz th , fenton mb . chicago and london , chicago univ press , 2003 : 346 - 397 . 2
popa - lisseanu , a . g . , bontadina , f . , mora , o . and ibáñez , c . ( 2008 ) highly structured fission - fusion societies in an aerial - hawking carnivorous bat . animal behaviour , 75 : 471 - 482 .
the interval between pulses ( pulse interval ) is also shaped by natural selection so that echolocation is efficient . this can be shown for two different situations . first , during insect pursuit , bats produce the next call immediately after hearing the echo from the prey . because echo delay decreases while the bat approaches its prey , the bat calls at ever shorter intervals . just before capture , this ends in a characteristic rapid ‘feeding buzz’ with up to approximately 200 pulses produced per second ( e . g . kalko & schnitzler 1998 ) .
mirón llm , herrera lgm , ramírez pn , hobson ka : effect of diet quality on carbon and nitrogen turnover and isotopic discrimination in blood of a new world nectarivorous bat . j exp biol . 2006 , 209 : 541 - 548 . 10 . 1242 / jeb . 02016 .
voigt cc , lehnert ls , popa - lisseanu ag , ciechanowski m , estok p , et al . . ( 2014 ) the trans - boundary importance of artificial bat hibernacula in managed european forests . biodiv conserv doi 10 . 1007 / s10531 - 914 - 0620 - y .
( a ) percentage ( ±95 % confidence interval ) of netted bats from la rioja , northern spain , and andalusia , southern spain , showing feathers in their fecal pellets . the number of individuals captured are shown above the line . ( b ) proportions ( percentage of presence in fecal pellets ±95 % confidence interval ) of insects ( white ) , feathers ( gray ) , and hair ( black ) found in fecal pellets sampled under a roosting colony of greater noctules at the zoological gardens in jerez de la frontera ( southern spain ) . numbers of fecal pellets examined per sample are shown above columns . black lines indicate the nocturnal migration density of small passerines along the migration periods , tracked by radar at vélez - málaga , 180 km from the bat locality ( 12 ) .
ibáñez , c . , juste , j . , garcía - mudarra , j . l . and agirre - mendi , p . t . ( 2001 ) bat predation on nocturnally migrating birds . proceedings of the national academy of sciences , 98 ( 17 ) : 9700 - 9702 .
in addition to the loss of mature forest , the cutting of old and hollow trees in urban areas is likely to be having a negative impact on the giant noctule ( 1 ) , especially as groups may rely on a network of different roosting sites ( 4 ) ( 6 ) . in highly fragmented environments , individuals may be forced to travel large distances between suitable roosting and foraging areas ( 5 ) .
citation : santana se , geipel i , dumont er , kalka mb , kalko ekv ( 2011 ) all you can eat : high performance capacity and plasticity in the common big - eared bat , micronycteris microtis ( chiroptera : phyllostomidae ) . plos one 6 ( 12 ) : e28584 . urltoken
the noctule bat migrates to the south or southwest during autumn , in order to escape the worst of the harsh winter weather , although not all individuals migrate ( 6 ) . mating takes place between august and october ( 2 ) ; during this time a single male defends a mating roost of 4 to 5 females against other males ( 2 ) . fertilisation is delayed until the following spring ( 6 ) , as females store sperm inside their uterus ( womb ) during the winter hibernation ( 8 ) , which occurs between october and early april ( 2 ) . during early summer males and females live together in summer roosts , but females begin to gather into maternity roosts of 20 to 50 ( rarely up to a few hundred ) females after late may ( 2 ) . during this time males live in small groups ( 2 ) . in england , a single young is usually produced in june or early july ; the young can fly at 4 weeks of age and reaches independence at around 7 weeks ( 2 ) . noctule bats are known to live to a maximum of 12 years of age ( 2 ) .
ibáñez , c . , juste , j . , garcía - mudarra , j . l . and agirre - mendi , p . t . ( 2003 ) feathers as indicator of a bat’s diet : a reply to bontadina & arlettaz . functional ecology , 17 ( 1 ) : 143 - 145 .
rex k , kelm dh , wiesner k , matt fg , kunz th , voigt cc : species richness and structure of three neotropical bat assemblages . biol j linn soc . 2008 , 94 : 617 - 629 . 10 . 1111 / j . 1095 - 8312 . 2008 . 01014 . x .
the giant noctule is generally found in mixed or deciduous forest and in wooded river valleys ( 1 ) ( 7 ) . it roosts in hollow trees , or occasionally in buildings ( 1 ) ( 6 ) ( 7 ) , and is dependent on mature forest and the presence of old trees to provide suitable roosting sites ( 1 ) . caves and rock crevices may also sometimes be used for hibernation in winter ( 1 ) .
there are no specific conservation measures currently targeted at this rare bat ( 1 ) . however , it is protected under a range of national and international legislation ( 1 ) ( 12 ) ( 13 ) ( 14 ) , and occurs in a number of national parks and other protected areas throughout its range ( 1 ) .
the distribution of this species stretches from the european atlantic regions until the european areas of russian and caucasus . it is also present in the mediterranean regions of morocco and algeria . furthermore there are some isolated records in pakistan , afghanistan and in the indian himalayas . in portugal , it has a wide , although heterogeneous , distribution in the whole country , with greater density in the northern regions . the central regions of alentejo near the border with spain and the most part of lower alentejo have a low occurrence of lesser noctules , having vast areas in which it is apparently absent .
this species has a patchy distribution throughout central and southern europe , north africa and russia . in europe , the giant noctule occurs from the iberian peninsula to the balkans , while in north africa it has been recorded in morocco , libya and possibly algeria . outside of the mediterranean , it is found through asia minor to the caucasus region , in iran and kazakhstan , and eastwards as far as the ural mountains in russia ( 1 ) ( 7 ) ( 8 ) .
more recently , attention on the adaptive significance of call frequency in bats has focused on the importance of call bandwidth . bat species that emit calls with broad bandwidths are most successful in capturing insect prey close to clutter ( clutter is defined as echoes other than the target of interest ; siemers & schnitzler 2004 ) . for example , the calls of myotis nattereri sweep from 135 khz to 16 khz and hence span wavelengths from approximately 22 mm to 2 . 6 mm . such calls will ensonify many reflecting surfaces , including prey and vegetation objects , simultaneously , thus allowing the bat to develop a detailed acoustic snapshot that allows it to separate prey from background clutter ( siemers & schnitzler 2004 ) .
we obtained carcasses during the july to september period of several subsequent years , thus covering the period in which most bat fatalities at wind turbines have been recorded in germany [ 6 ] . however , since we lack profound information on the sampling effort conducted in each respective year , we were not able to account for a potential bias introduced by uneven sampling effort between and within years .
. . . in this paper we summarise all romanian occurrences of the species , with new additions . n . lasiopterus is one of the three bat species predating songbirds ( dondini & vergari 2000 ) . according to radio - tracking studies , in some areas it has very large home ranges to be able to find appropriate roosting and feeding habitats ( popa - lisseanu et al . 2009 ) . . . .
. . . except the special case of the egyptian fruit bat , the european species are mostly eating invertebrates , with some cases reported concerning the predation of fish by myotis daubentoni ( siemens , 2001 ) , or passerines birds by nyctalus lasiopterus ( dondini , 2000 ) . several families of invertebrates are concerned by the predation of bats , and there are important differences in the diet of the bats . . . .
nel maggio 1994 , iniziò uno studio sulla chirotterofauna forestale nella riserva biogenetica di pian di novello ( toscana , pistoia , 44°07 ? n - 10°42 ? e ) . la vegetazione della riserva è dominata essenzialmente dal faggio ed è governata ad alto fusto con una età media degli esemplari di 80 - 100 anni . un totale di 90 bat - boxes furono distribuite all ? interno della riserva . in questi anni sono state . . . [ show full abstract ]
) . first , in - flight ranging accuracy is disturbed because bats call at one place and hear the echo at a slightly different position along their flight trajectory . second , all echoes will be affected by doppler shifts , i . e . they are compressed in time and their pitch increases , which also perturbs distance measurements considerably . these two ranging errors together have a very interesting spatial distribution relative to the flying bat ; the overall flight - induced ranging error will be 0 for all objects on one particular hemisphere with the bat in its centre . the farther the objects are from this hemisphere , the larger will be the flight - induced ranging error . under natural conditions , such ranging errors can reach several centimetres . thus , these errors may significantly increase collision risk in close - range navigation and impede capture success . what makes dof theory so interesting is that every call design has its specific hemisphere radius , which depends on sweep rate and curvature (
) . comparisons of genes that may be associated with audition in bats with those in other mammals may be revealing , and may shed light on some of the mechanisms by which convergence in echolocation strategies is achieved . it is also likely that new understandings in bat echolocation may assist navigation mechanisms in autonomously moving vehicles . the ways in which bats that use broadband signals make subtle adjustments to call design to compensate for doppler effects may have implications for signal design in vehicles that are able to navigate in darkness (
in mid - may 1994 , a study of chiropteran fauna was begun in the wildlife reserve of pian di novello ( tuscany , pistoia , 44°07’n - 10°42’e ) , composed by a tall , 80 - 100 year beech forest . a total of 90 bat - boxes - using both the 74
2f universal
and 16
2fn special
models produced by schwegler ( germany ) - were distributed in six circular areas , each with a radius of about 50 m . each area contained . . . [ show full abstract ]
in a field study with whiskered bats commuting in a narrow flight corridor along the surface of a hedgerow , holderied et al . ( 2006 ) found distance - dependent signal design that supports the dof theory : ( i ) dofs were in a reasonable range from 1 cm to 110 cm , ( ii ) dofs were shorter in more confined situations , and ( iii ) dof in the confined situation was adjusted to the instantaneous distance to the hedge in a distance - dependent manner . further studies will reveal whether other bat species in different ecological situations make similar use of plasticity in signal design .
. . . this diversity , combined with the sensitivity nature of some species to disturbances allows bats to be considered a good indicator of the biodiversity and of the management of habitats and landscapes within europe . except the special case of the egyptian fruit bat , the european species are mostly eating invertebrates , with some cases reported concerning the predation of fishes by myotis daubentoni ( siemens , 2001 ) , or passerines birds by nyctalus lasiopterus ( dondini , 2000 ) . several families of invertebrates are concerned by the predation of bats , and there are important differences in the diet of the bats . . . .
n . lasiopterus might perhaps catch birds in boxes when they are searching for roosts ( 8 ) . however , this is unlikely to explain the observed pattern because the proportion of feathers in the bat fecal pellets is minimal in spring , when the number of birds breeding in boxes is at its peak . in addition , only feathers were found in feces , and never the remains of other common box - dwelling vertebrates ( e . g . , bats , geckos , and mice ) typically found in feces from gleaning carnivorous bats ( e . g . , nycteris grandis , vampyrum spectrum , chrotopterus auritus ) ( 6 , 14 ) .
although the interplay among morphology , performance and behavior seem to have an important role in niche partitioning among bat species , there have been at least two main obstacles to understanding the connection between these factors and resource use . first , although we have a general idea about the diets of many species , there are still insufficient diet data for most . second , it is generally difficult to obtain behavioral information for bats feeding on a wide spectrum of prey . our purpose was to take advantage of a unique opportunity to quantify the feeding behavior of m . microtis to enable a broad understanding of the ecomorphological factors underlying resource partitioning among neotropical gleaning bats .