Savi’s pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii) in Ukraine: analysis of records and evidence of expansion

Bibliographic Details
Title: Savi’s pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii) in Ukraine: analysis of records and evidence of expansion
Authors: Igor Polischuk, Igor Zagorodniuk
Source: Theriologia Ukrainica, Vol 28, Pp 113-128 (2024)
Publisher Information: National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. National Museum of Natural History, 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: LCC:Zoology
Subject Terms: pipistrelles, habitat dynamics, species identification, phantom species, expansion, Zoology, QL1-991
More Details: The paper is devoted to the records of a species that until recently has been considered to be limited to the southernmost territories of Ukraine (the southern coast of the Crimea), but for which a number of facts of expansion in the northern direction have been revealed. Savi’s pipistrelle is a rare species that should be the object of attention. Such facts were recorded by the authors using US-signals for a number of quite different places from the southern regions of Ukraine, in particular from the Azov Sea districts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast (Botieve, Novopetrivka), from Kherson Oblast (Askania-Nova) and from the northern regions of the Carpathians (Dolyna). The records belong to the period of intensive ultrasonic monitoring data of bat fauna in 2017–2018. All records have a number of similarities described in the article, in particular: a) belonging to the southern territories, b) predominance of records in spring or autumn, c) virtually all records were made in urban landscapes. In fact, we can talk not about the species’ findings, but about the registration of signals similar to that of the species. The only recent actual find, the description of which contains a number of dubious facts, is an indication of the detection of a hibernating Savi’s pipistrelle in the Sevastopol youth centre. The details of signals corresponding to Hypsugo savii. Similar records have been reported from a number of Carpathian regions of Ukraine, but also without a single captured animal. A map of the distribution of registrations across the territory of Ukraine, which includes 14 localities recorded after 2000, is provided. Today, we can talk about another phantom species, which repeats the history of other phantom bat species that have been reported from Ukraine. However, the body of evidence is quite sound, since it is not based on expert opinion about the audio signals heard, but on the analysis of signals according to their physical characteristics that can be measured. In addition to the three key features of the records mentioned above, which indicate the possibility of such finds, it is important to talk about possible errors inherent in the identification systems, which are very typical for the periods of primary biota inventory using newfangled methods. The authors consider registrations of signals of Hypsugo savii as the actual appearance of this bat species, but not in the form of new populations, but as individuals appearing as scouts exploring new territories. Actually, the latter explains the lack of actual findings of this species.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
Ukrainian
ISSN: 2616-7379
2617-1120
Relation: http://terioshkola.org.ua/library/pts28/TU2810-polischuk.htm; https://doaj.org/toc/2616-7379; https://doaj.org/toc/2617-1120
DOI: 10.53452/TU2810
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/41843f9a8f724ad0b8375079dc9332d3
Accession Number: edsdoj.41843f9a8f724ad0b8375079dc9332d3
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:26167379
26171120
DOI:10.53452/TU2810
Published in:Theriologia Ukrainica
Language:English
Ukrainian