Bats of the forest steppe of Sumy Oblast: old records and new findings

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Bats of the forest steppe of Sumy Oblast: old records and new findings. — V. Parkhomenko. — Generalized information on 9 bat species of the south of Sumy Oblast is presented based on own materials (29 specimens of 7 bat species from 3 localities) and on data from literature sources and catalogues of zoological collections (123 specimens of 9 species from 16 localities). The autumn mating of Vespertilio murinus was recorded in the region for the first time. Records of E. serotinus are clarified, which should be considered as records of E. lobatus. New findings of bats are reported from three localities. Most of the new records (51.1 %) are from the autumn, less from the summer (28.9 %) and the least from the spring (15.5 %). Most of the records are of P. auritus and M. daubentonii (34.9 %). New findings of bats in most cases were recorded during hunting (14 specimens), and, according to the literature, during daytime (43 specimens) and wintering (36 specimens). In total, 85.5 % of bats were recorded during the warm period of the year (April to November). More than the half of new records (17 specimens, 58.6 %) is related to anthropogenic habitats. Metric data (forearm length) are presented for 7 species and compared with data from other regions.