{{Short description|Species of bat}} {{Speciesbox | image = Plecotus_kolombatovici.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn |author=Petr, B. |author2=Piraccini, R. |year=2023 |title=''Plecotus kolombatovici'' |errata=2024 |article-number=e.T216518463A254076042 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T216518463A254076042.en |access-date=12 January 2024}}</ref> | taxon = Plecotus kolombatovici | authority = Dulic, 1980 | range_map = | range_map_caption = }}
The '''Mediterranean long-eared bat''' ('''''Plecotus kolombatovici'''''), also known as '''Kolombatovic's long-eared bat''' or the '''Balkan long-eared bat''', is a species of vesper bat ranging from Italy east through the Balkans east to Syria, and south to Jordan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite mdd|title=''Plecotus kolombatovici'' Đulić, 1980|id=1005668|access-date=2021-09-25}}</ref>
==Taxonomy== The species was described by Dulić in 1980, following the identification of small bats from the Plecotus genus in Croatia. However, until 2010, the qualification of ''P.kolombatovici'' as species was subject to doubt.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dietz, C. |author2= von Helversen, O. |year=2004 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274838308 |title=Illustrated identification key to the bats of Europe|publisher= Tuebingen & Erlangen, Germany}}</ref> Specimens of ''Plecotus sp.'' were analysed in North Africa, the Canary Islands, and Asia over a period of years, and it was proposed that all the specimens were subspecies of the same species, ''Plecotus teneriffae''. However, the most recent studies confirm the status of species for ''P. kolombatovici.''<ref>{{cite journal|author=Tvrtkovic, N.|author2= Pavlinic, I.|author3= Haring, E. |year=2005|url=https://www.bib.irb.hr/561682 |title=Four species of long-eared bats (''Plecotus'', Geoffroy, 1818; Mammalia, Vespertilionidae) in Croatia: field identification and distribution|journal= Folia Zoologica|volume= 54|issue=1/2|page= 75}}</ref> As several species of Plecotus can be leaving in sympatry in a same region, a clear identification of specimen can be very difficult.
==Distribution== So far, ''P. kolombatovici'' has been recorded in Albania,<ref name="eurobats albania">{{cite web |url=http://www.eurobats.org/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/National_Reports/Inf.MoP7_.9-National%20Implementation%20Report%20of%20Albania.pdf |title=Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats: National Implementation Report |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=June 2014 |website=eurobats.org |publisher=UNEP/EUROBATS |access-date=May 10, 2017}}</ref> Croatia<ref name="eurobats croatia">{{cite web |url=http://www.eurobats.org/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/National_Reports/nat_rep_Croa_2014.pdf |title=The Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats (EUROBATS): Sixth National Report on the Implementation of the Agreement |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=July 2014 |website=eurobats.org |publisher=UNEP/EUROBATS |access-date=May 10, 2017}}</ref> and Greece,<ref name="eurobats greece">{{cite web |url=http://www.eurobats.org/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/National_Reports/nat_rep_Greece_2010_0.pdf |title=National Report on Bat Conservation in Greece |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=June 2010 |website=eurobats.org |publisher=UNEP/EUROBATS |access-date=May 10, 2017}}</ref> as well as Italy<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ancillotto |first1=L. |last2=Mori |first2=E. |last3=Bosso |first3=L. |last4=Agnelli |first4=P. |last5=Russo |first5=D. |date=2019-05-01 |title=The Balkan long-eared bat (Plecotus kolombatovici) occurs in Italy – first confirmed record and potential distribution |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1616504718303082 |journal=Mammalian Biology |volume=96 |pages=61–67 |doi=10.1016/j.mambio.2019.03.014 |bibcode=2019MamBi..96...61A |issn=1616-5047|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and parts of the Middle East.<ref name=":0" />
This species is often found in the islands of the Adriatic sea,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Théou, P.|author2= Loçe, E. |year=2017|url=http://secemu.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Theou_et_al_2017.pdf |title=First data on bats (Chiroptera) for Vlora bay and Sazan Island, Albania|journal= Journal of Bat Research & Conservation |volume=10|issue=1}}</ref> but also inland with a recorded presence in most of Greece. In Albania, many specimens were found in former bunkers on the Sazan Island.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q805029}}
kolombatovici Category:Bats of Europe Category:Bats of Asia Category:Fauna of the Balkans Category:Mammals described in 1980