Snake predation on bats in Europe: new cases and a regional assessment
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Levente Barti
, Áron Péter
Abstract
Among reptiles only snakes are known to frequently feed on bats and even inside this group chiropterophagy is rare, with most records being noted in the tropics. In the temperate region and especially in Europe, only a handful of cases have been described. Here, we report further cases of bat predation in underground habitats of Bulgaria, highlighting the importance of the Aesculapian snake (Zamenis longissimus) predation on bats in the Western Palearctic. Until now, 11 species of bats have been recorded as preys of snakes in Europe. Our observations are the first records of snake hunting on Mediterranean horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus euryale) and on greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis) in Europe, and only the third to fourth observation of underground predation. The observation in a short time of two incidences of hunting in a fairly small area, coupled with the regular presence of snakes in cave environments, may suggest a more common bat hunting habit for Aesculapian snakes. Bat predation of snakes in the Balkan region (or in the Mediterranean) certainly is more common than previously assumed. The number of records may increase substantially with targeted search during crepuscular and night hours in the entrance area of underground bat shelters.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to G. D’Amico and D. Scaravelli for their help in locating crucial references. Permission for bat research was provided by the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water (permit no. 718/24.08.2017), the research was supported from the grant PN-II-RU-TE-2014-4-0919: TE/36/2015, while ADS was supported by the János Bolyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
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©2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Ethology
- The influence of logging upon the foraging behaviour and diet of the endangered Bornean banteng
- Conservation
- Wolf diet and livestock selection in central Greece
- Origin, ecology and human conflict of gray wolf (Canis lupus) in Suleman Range, South Waziristan, Pakistan
- Ecology
- Resource limitations and competitive interactions affect carnivore community composition at different ecological scales in a temperate island system
- Mandibular osteomyelitis in the bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821) (Odontoceti: Cetacea): first case in the Mexican Caribbean
- Diet of two invasive rodent species in two Mayan communities in Mexico
- Small non-volant mammals of the Reserva Geobotánica Pululahua, Ecuador
- Snake predation on bats in Europe: new cases and a regional assessment
- Molecular versus morphological approaches to diet analysis of the caracal (Caracal caracal)
- Physiology
- Reproductive senescence in free-ranging North American elk Cervus elaphus Cervidae
- Taxonomy/phylogeny
- Morphological reassessment and new locality records for Galea comes Thomas, 1919 (Rodentia, Caviidae)
- Phylogeography of Miniopterus fuliginosus (Chiroptera) with special reference to Jeju Island, South Korea
- Annual reviewer acknowledgement
- Reviewer acknowledgement Mammalia volume 83 (2019)
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Ethology
- The influence of logging upon the foraging behaviour and diet of the endangered Bornean banteng
- Conservation
- Wolf diet and livestock selection in central Greece
- Origin, ecology and human conflict of gray wolf (Canis lupus) in Suleman Range, South Waziristan, Pakistan
- Ecology
- Resource limitations and competitive interactions affect carnivore community composition at different ecological scales in a temperate island system
- Mandibular osteomyelitis in the bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821) (Odontoceti: Cetacea): first case in the Mexican Caribbean
- Diet of two invasive rodent species in two Mayan communities in Mexico
- Small non-volant mammals of the Reserva Geobotánica Pululahua, Ecuador
- Snake predation on bats in Europe: new cases and a regional assessment
- Molecular versus morphological approaches to diet analysis of the caracal (Caracal caracal)
- Physiology
- Reproductive senescence in free-ranging North American elk Cervus elaphus Cervidae
- Taxonomy/phylogeny
- Morphological reassessment and new locality records for Galea comes Thomas, 1919 (Rodentia, Caviidae)
- Phylogeography of Miniopterus fuliginosus (Chiroptera) with special reference to Jeju Island, South Korea
- Annual reviewer acknowledgement
- Reviewer acknowledgement Mammalia volume 83 (2019)