First record of Myotis crypticus (Ruedi, Ibanez, Salicini, Juste and Puechmaille, 2019) for Portugal

Myotis crypticus is a recently described bat species belonging to the Myotis nattereri species complex. Its distribution range is not entirely known and so far has only been found across Italy, southern France, and central and northern Spain. Here we present the first record of M. crypticus for Portugal. In October 2018, one individual of this species was captured at a swarming site within the Natura 2000 Site of Community Importance (SCI) Alvão/Marão in northern Portugal. The morphological identification of the bat in the field was later confirmed molecularly. The Natterer’s bat, Myotis nattereri, was supposed to be a morphologically uniform taxonomic entity and widespread across most of the Western Palearctic (Ruedi et al. 2019). However, molecular research carried out over the last few years has revealed that this species is a complex of several lineages considered as unnamed cryptic species (Ibáñez et al. 2006, Salicini et al. 2011, Puechmaille et al. 2012, Çoraman et al. 2019). As a result, the existence of two different species has been recently confirmed for the Iberian Peninsula (Juste et al. 2019): Myotis escalerai, which is mainly endemic to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), the Balearic Islands, and reaching the eastern French Pyrenees, and Myotis crypticus, which is found across Italy, southern France, and the north of Spain (Salicini et al. 2011), however the limits of its distribution, particularly in the north, are still unclear (Juste et al. 2019). Our bat record was collected as part of a long-term bat mist-netting survey in the north of Portugal. During the mating season (September and October), we regularly monitor a swarming site located within the Natura 2000 Site of Community Importance (SCI) Alvão/Marão. This site is classified in the scope of the Natura 2000 network achieving the favourable conservation status of Mediterranean habitats and species of community importance. This site comprises approximately 58,788 ha and includes two distinct zones: the highlands (Marão: 1,416 m a.s.l. and Alvão: 1,330 m a.s.l.) localized between the Lamas de Olo plateau and the lowlands (Ermelo, Fervença and Régua, near the Douro river) where the lowest point of the SCI is located at 50 m a.s. l. The Alvão/Marão site is located in an intermediate zone influenced by the Atlantic and the Mediterranean climates, which gives rise to a large diversity of habitats. Oak forests of the species Quercus pyrenaica and Quercus robur are predominant although agricultural areas (mainly pastures) can also be found. The SCI also encompasses an extended hydrologic network, characteristic of montane areas (Moreira et al. 2008), that offers favourable conditions to a high percentage of Portugal’s inland bat community: supporting at least 22 of the 25 species known to occur in the country (Barros et al. 2012, Rainho et al. 2013). Bats were captured at the swarming site using 2.5 x 3 m and 2.5 x 9 m mist-nets (16x16 mm, 70/2 Nylon: Ecotone, Poland) and a harp trap (Bat Conservation and Management, EUA) placed at the caves ́ entrances or in the immediate surroundings. The nets were opened one hour after sunset and kept open for five hours. Forearm length and body mass of each bat captured was measured using digital callipers (± 0.01 mm) and a digital scale (± 0.01 g). Reproductive status was checked according to Haarsma (2008). Bats belonging to a cryptic complex or a species of particular interest (e.g. M. escalerai/M. crypticus, Plecotus auritus/Plecotus austriacus, Myotis daubetonii) were subject to a skin biopsy sampling using a sterile puncher of a 3 mm diameter from the wing membrane (mesopatagium) (Ibáñez et al. 2006). Samples