Rhinolophus blasii Peters 1866
Creators: name: Burgin, Connor
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Rhinolophidae
Rhinolophus
Rhinolophus blasii

description: 6. Blasius’s Horseshoe <i>Bat</i> <i>Rhinolophus blasii</i> French: <i>Rhinolophe</i> de Blasius <i>I</i> <b>German:</b> Blasius-Hufeisennase / <b>Spanish:</b> Herradura de Blasius <b>Other common names:</b> Peak-saddle Horseshoe Bat <b>Taxonomy.</b> <i>Rhinolophus blasii</i> Peters, 1866, south-eastern Europe. Restricted by J. R. Ellerman and colleagues in 1953 to Italy. <i>Rhinolophus blasii</i> is currently in the <i>landeri</i> species group based on morphology; however, it is probably best included as a basal member of the <i>capensis</i> species group based on genetic data. Four subspecies recognized. <b>Subspecies and Distribution.</b> <i>R b.</i> <i>blasii</i> Peters, 1866 — SE Europe (from Croatia E to W Romania and Bulgaria and S to Greece and Crete I), SW Asia (W Anatolian <i>Turkey</i>, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, WJordan, S Armenia, S Azerbaijan, W Iran, and S Arabian Peninsula in Yemen and Oman), and NW Africa (N Morocco, N Algeria, and N Tunisia); possibly also found in Egypt and Georgia, <b>but</b> his needs confirmation. <i>R b. andreinii</i> Senna, 1905 - W Eritrea, C &amp; E Ethiopia, and NW Somalia. <i>R b. empusa</i> K. Andersen, 1904 - SE Africa in SE DR Congo, SE Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, W Mozambique, Zimbabwe, E Botswana, E South Africa, and Swaziland. <i>R b. meyeroehmif</i> elten, 1977 - <i>E</i> Iran, S Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and N Pakistan. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 46- 5-54 mm (Europe), tail 20-31 mm, ear 16-21 mm, hindfoot 8-11 mm, forearm 41-51 mm; weight 7-15 g. Dorsal pelage is light brown to yellowish brown (hairs have cream bases with dark tips); venter is grayish, white, or creamy. Back of neck is a little lighter, appearing as a lighter band (hairs with less dark brown tipping), and sides of face are yellowish white, with dark brown patch under each <i>eye</i>. There are grayish and orange morphs in subspecies <i>empusa.</i> Males lack axillary tufts. Ears are <i>translucent</i> light to dark brown or brownish gray and medium in size (33-44% of forearm length). Noseleaf has subtriangular lancet, with slightly concave sides, occasionally hastate, and rounded tip; connecting process is well developed rising to high, narrow, and pointed hom; sella is naked and wedge-shaped, and sides converge toward top; top of sella is narrow and tilted forward; horseshoe is narrow (7- 2-9 mm) and does not cover entire muzzle; lateral leaflets are either absent, rudimentary, or well developed, possibly depending on subspecies; and median emargination is present but inconspicuous. Lower lip has three grooves, and two lateral grooves are poorly defined in subspecies <i>empusa. Wings</i> and uropatagium are dark grayish brown. Shaft of baculum is nearly cylindrical in cross section and is bent clearly upward; tip of shaft lacks terminal knob; ventral incision of basal cone is moderately deep; and there is no dorsal emargination. Skull is rather delicate, with narrow zygomatic arches; zygomatic width is equal to mastoid width; nasal swellings are relatively low; frontal depression is shallow to very shallow; supraorbital ridges are poorly developed; and sagittal crest is generally low. Dental formula has 30-32 teeth because P is sometimes absent; F is <i>weakly</i> bilobed; C1 has weak anterior and posterior cingular cusps; P2 is small and in tooth row, separating C1 and P4; P3 is tiny and either displaced labially or in tooth row (<i>occasionally</i> absent); and P2 and P4 are usually conspicuously separated. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 58 and FN = 60 (throughout much of distribution); FNa = 60 was recorded in South Africa. <b>Habitat.</b> Various shrubland, <i>grassland</i>, woodland, and some desert habitats. Around the Mediterranean, Blasius’s Horseshoe Bats have been recorded in sclerophyllous forests, sub-Mediterranean semi-desert grasslands and shrublands, and stone/gravel desert habitats, presumably where water is available, at elevations of 500-2300 m (mean 1404 m), with records up to 2300 m in Malawi and Zambia and 2150 m in Yemen. They are often associated with limestone in Europe, often near streams in shrubby and wooded areas. In sub-Saharan Africa, they have been recorded in evergreen and semievergreen brushlands and thickets and <i>Acacia (</i> Fabaceae <i>)-</i> <i>Commiphora</i> (Burseraceae) brushlands (Ethiopia and Somalia) and in miombo woodlands and montane forests (Malawi and Zambia). They are very <i>dependent</i> on water and are generally associated <b>with</b> streams and other water bodies. <b>Food and</b> Feeding. Blasius’s Horseshoe Bats are insectivorous and forage by slow <i>hawking</i>, fly-catching, and gleaning on foliage and the ground. <i>They</i> are very agile fliers, able to turn suddenly by banking and stalling and then twisting. They also have <i>ability</i> to fly <i>relatively</i> slowly and can hover briefly. To get water, they skim the surface or land and lap up water; they can <b>take</b> off from the ground. Diets consist almost <i>exclusively</i> of moths in most parts of the distribution. They can detect fluttering <i>of</i> a moth’s wings when it lands and will land and grab a moth before taking off again. They often prey on species of Noctuidae, Lasiocampidae, and Geometridae. In Algeria, however, one <i>study</i> recorded a <i>large</i> variety of prey in the diet, with mostly insects (96-9%) <b>but</b> also some centipedes (4-3%). Of the insects, dipterans made up the largest proportion of diets (37-5%), with Chironomidae / Ceratopogonidae (9-4%) and Culicidae, Anisopodidae, and Sphaeroceridae (6-2%) making up majority of flies in diets. Trichoptera (16-6%), Hemiptera <b>(</b> 12 <b>-</b> 5 <b>%),</b> and Lepidoptera (12-5%) were also detected in relatively high quantities, and Neuroptera, Hymenoptera, and Coleoptera were detected in 1—2 samples. In Zambia, moths made up 100% of diets in <b>dry</b> seasons and 96-5% in <i>wet</i> seasons when isopterans, dipterans, coleopterans, and other insects made up the other 3-5%. Breeding. Blasius’s Horseshoe Bat is seasonally monoestrous, although timing of breeding varies throughout its distribution. During breeding season, females and their offspring occur in maternity colonies. Males <i>seem</i> to display to females before copulation <i>by</i> hanging and fluttering their wings. Breeding probably occurs before hibernation, followed by delayed implantation until hibernation ends. Litter size is one. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Blasius’s Horseshoe <b>Bat</b> is nocturnal, spends the day free-hanging in roosts, and will often enter torpor during this time. It leaves the roost at night to forage and returns before dusk. Although it hibernates throughout winter, it has been recorded active in winter <b>in</b> various parts of its distribution, including Algeria. Hibernation begins in November in Iran and later in Afghanistan due to differences <b>in</b> climate. <b>It</b> generally enters hibernation after temperatures decrease to below 14°C, which often occurs in November in the European part of the distribution. Roosts are underground in caves and crevices between boulders and also hollow trees. Blasius’s Horseshoe Bats rarely roost in buildings, but they can be found in mine shafts, underground irrigation ditches, and other underground structures. In southern Africa (<i>except</i> South Africa), they seem to rarely use caves as roosts, <i>possibly</i> relying on them more heavily in winter in temperate regions. Call shape is <b>FM</b> /CF/FM. GF component is 85—98 kHz throughout their distribution, being 91—95 kHz in Malawi (usually 92—93 kHz), 85-9 kHz in Swaziland, 96-7 kHz in Morocco, 93-2-95-4 kHz in Mozambique, and 93-1 kHz in Iran and average 94 kHz in Europe and the Middle East. Average call durations have been recorded at 20-7 milliseconds in Morocco, 44-9 milliseconds <b>in</b> Algeria and Greece, 44-1 milliseconds in Greece, 48-6 milliseconds (range 40-1—68-3) in Iran, and 20-8 milliseconds (range 19-9-21-3) <b>in</b> Swaziland. Interpulse intervals have been recorded at 71-8 milliseconds in Greece and 109-3 milliseconds (range 103-1— <b>117</b> -1) in Iran. According to G. Jones and B. M. Siemers in 2011, females emit higher frequency pulses than males, andjuveniles emit lower frequencies than adults. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> Like most horseshoe bats, Blasius’s Horseshoe Bats do not migrate. They hibernate primarily in caves in winter throughout their distribution. They generally roost in small colonies of 20 <b>-</b> 40 individuals but are also commonly found in groups of 3-4 individuals or even alone. In Europe, very large colonies of mixed species of <i>hinolophus,</i> including Blasius’s Horseshoe Bat, have been reported with up to 2000 individuals, particularly in Bulgaria and Greece. Maternal colonies of 30-400 individuals have been recorded in summer. <i>Winter</i> hibernating colonies of 100-500 individuals have been reported in Iran. They are known to share roosts with other species of <i>Rhinolophus, Plecotus, Myotis,</i> and <i>Miniopterus</i> in Europe and Asia. <b>Status and</b> Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on <i>The IUCN Red List.</i> Blasius’s Horseshoe Bat is considered relatively common throughout its wide distribution, <b>but</b> populations seem to be decreasing in Europe where it is considered one of the rarest horseshoe bats on the continent. It was found in north-eastern Italy but is now extinct there, and no records have been made in Slovenia <b>in</b> the past 50 years. Populations in the eastern Balkans seem to be stable unlike the Mediterranean populations that are declining. Major threats seem to be colony disturbances and general habitat and roost destruction. <b>Bibliography.</b> ACR (2018), Ahmim &amp; <i>Moali</i> (2013), Benda &amp; Gaisler (2015), Benda, Abi-Said eta/. (2016), Benda, Andreas et al. (2006), Benda, Faizolâhi et <i>al.</i> (2012), Benda, <i>Hanâk</i> et <i>al.</i> (2007), Benda, Lucan et al. (2010), Cotterill (1996a), Csorba <i>et al.</i> (2003), Dietz, von Helversen &amp; Nili (2009), Disca et <i>al.</i> (2014), Dulie (1967), Ellerman et <i>al.</i> (1953), indley &amp; Black (1983), Happold, M. (2013q), Heller &amp; von Helversen (1989), Jacobs et <i>al.</i> (2007), Jére et <i>al.</i> (2017), <i>Jones</i> &amp; Siemers (2011), <i>KryStufek</i> (2008), Maree &amp; <i>Grant</i> (1996), Monadjem (2005a), Monadjem, Reside &amp; Lumsden (2007), Papadatou et <i>al.</i> (2008a), Paunovic &amp; Stamenkovió (1998), <i>Presetnik</i> et al. (2014), Puechmaille, Hizem eta/. (2012), Roberts (1977), Siemers &amp; Ivanova (2004), Siemers et <i>al.</i> (2005), Stoffberg et al. (2010), <i>Taylor</i> (2000, 2016f), Walters <i>eta</i> /. (2012), Whitaker &amp; Black (1976).
description: Published as part of <i>Burgin, Connor, 2019, Rhinolophidae, pp. 280-332 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on page 283, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3748525