Rediscovery of Mehely's horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus mehelyi ) in peninsular Italy

摘要

Rhinolophus mehelyi is strictly confined to the Mediterranean. Its populations are reported to be declining in much of the species' geographical range, which is quite fragmented. In Italy R. mehelyi was thought to be extinct in peninsular Italy, and still occurring in Sardinia (with large colonies) and Sicily (two remnant colonies). For peninsular Italy its presence was reported only for Apulia (SE Italy) but the latest records dated back to the 1960’s. In this note we confirm the presence of this species in the same region for the Zinzulusa Cave (Castro, Lecce).