Contribution to the natural history of Barbastella barbastellus in Turkey (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

Abstract

The western barbastelle, Barbastella barbastellus (Schreber, 1774) is a species protected by national and international agreements. The number of records on its occurrence in Turkey is very limited, and the species is not well-known. Records in literature, except for the ones from Adıyaman (owl pellet), Kırklareli, and Nevşehir, are from northeastern Turkey. Here presented new findings show that the species is distributed predominantly in the areas along the Black Sea coast. According to call recording analyses, it was found also in western regions of Turkey including the Çanakkale and Denizli provinces. This study provides the first records of the species from southern and southwestern Turkey, the Bartın, Çanakkale, Denizli, and Konya Provinces. With respect to morphometric data, Turkish specimens represent the nominotypical form of B. barbastellus. We analysed three female specimens with the diploid number of chromosomes 2n=32, with NF=54 and NFa=50. We also provide some ecological remarks, along with analyses of echolocation calls.