First record of Savi's pipistrelle Hypsugo savii (Bonaparte, 1837) in NW Slovenia
PRVA NAJDBA SAVIJEVEGA NETOPIRJA HYPSUGO SAVII (BONAPARTE, 1837) V SEVEROZAHODNI SLOVENIJI
Lea LIKOZAR, Tomšičeva 3, SI-4000 Kranj, Slovenia; Slovensko društvo za proučevanje in varstvo netopirjev (SDPVN), Večna pot 111, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; e-mail: lea.likozar@gmail.com
On 3rd November 2010, Mrs Lidija Mohorič, a teacher, informed SDPVN (Slovenian Association for Bat Research and Conservation) that her school children found an exhausted bat. The individual, a male Savi's pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii) (Fig. 1), was taken care of in captivity (fed with mealworms), but did not recover and died ten days later. The antebrachium (AB) of the bat, which weighed 4.5 g, measured 33.8 mm. Its carcass is temporarily stored in the author's private collection and will be later handed over to the Slovenian Museum of Natural History. Savi's pipistrelle was found in the centre of Kranj, lying in the street between block of flats (lat. 46°14'6, 34'', lon. 14°21'34, 02"). The city has a population of 54.200 inhabitants (Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, 2008). It is located approximately 20 km northwest of the capital Ljubljana and is part of the Ljubljana basin. Kranj is bordered by the Kamniško -Savinjske Alps to the north and the Julian Alps to the west. The region has subalpine climate. The annual precipitations are approximately 1500-1600 mm and the average yearly temperature is 8-10°C (ARSO 2006).
This is the first record of Savi's pipistrelle in northwestern Slovenia. Next closest records are app. 16 km towards southeast from Ljubljana and its surroundings (CKFF 2010). In Slovenia, this species is mostly known from the Submediterranean region (Žibrat 2009), but was recently also found in central and eastern Slovenia (CKFF 2010). This is not surprising, as this originally Mediterranean species has greatly
expanded its distributional range towards the north in the last few decades. Breeding colonies are concentrated in lowlands of eastern, northeastern and central Europe. Most mating and hibernation sites are located in western and southern Europe, although some individuals have been found as far as England, Scotland, Jersey and northern Germany (Dietz et al. 2007, Reiter et al. 2010). It is possible that the bat was found during its autumn migration. This finding confirms that this species' range has expanded and that further records can be expected in northern parts of Slovenia.
Literature
ARSO (2006): Podnebne razmere v Sloveniji (obdobje 1971-2000), Ljubljana www.arso.gov.si/vreme/podnebje/podnebne_r azmere_Slo71_00.pdf
CKFF (2010): Databse of the Centre for Cartography of Fauna and Flora, on 19th November 2010.
Dietz et al. (2007): Bats of Britain, Europe and Northwest Africa. A & C Black Publishers Ltd., London, pp. 310-314.
Reiter G., Wegleitner S., Huttmeir U., Pollheimer M. (2010): Die Alpenfledermaus, Hypsugo savii (Bonaparte, 1837) in Mitteleuropa. Nyctalus (N. F.) Berlin 15(2-3): 158-170.
Statistical office of the Republic of Slovenia (2008): http://www.stat.si/obcinevstevilkah/Vsebina.a spx?id=72
Žibrat U. (2009): Savijev netopir - Hypsugo savii (Bonaparte, 1837). In: Presetnik, P., Koselj K., Zagmajster M. (Eds.), Atlas netopirjev (Chiroptera) Slovenije, Atlas of Bats (Chiroptera) of Slovenia. Center za kartografijo favne in flore, Miklavž na Dravskem polju, pp. 88-89.
Figure 1. Savi's pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii) found on 3rd November 2010 in Kranj, northwestern Slovenia (photo: Lea Likozar).
Slika 1. Savijev netopir (Hypsugo savii), najden 3.11. 2010 v Kranju (foto: Lea Likozar).