First record of the Egyptian fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus (Pteropodidae), from Kastellorizo island, Greece

Abstract

The Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) is a pteropodid species with a large part of its range in the Palearctic region. It has a quite discontinuous range from sub-Saharan Africa to NW India, including SW Turkey. In this note we present the first record of the Egyptian fruit bat in Greek territory, observed during a zoological expedition on the island of Kastellorizo (Dodecanese, Greece). At least three specimens were observed foraging a white mulberry in the town of Megisti on May 4 2017, but no individual was spotted during a summer expedition in August 2017.

The Late and the Latest Pleistocene Chiroptera (Mammalia) from Loutra Almopias Cave a (Pella, Macedonia, Greece)

“…The extant representatives of all chiropteran species that have been identified from the sediments of LAC A are currently inhabiting the Greek region and the broader region of the cave, with the exception of R. mehelyi and Rousettus aegyptiacus (Dietz et al, 2009;Strachinis et al, 2018;IUCN, 2022). In addition, there are no recent records from the studied cave indicating permanent presence of extant bat populations in it (Paragamian, 2022).…”

“…The Egyptian fruit bat, R . aegyptiacus , has been recorded only on the island of Kastellorizo and it is still unknown whether it roosts on the island or it travels from the Turkish mainland — given the short distance — to forage (Strachinis et al ., 2018).…”

“…In Greece, the zoological studies listed 36 extant chiropteran species: Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, R. mehelyi, R. blasii, R. euryale, R. hipposideros, Myotis myotis, M. blythii, M. bechsteinii, M. emarginatus, M. capaccinii, M. nattereri, M. aurascens, M. alcathoe, M. brandtii, M. daubentonii, M. mystacinus, Nyctalus lasiopterus, N. noctula, N. leisleri, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, P. pygmaeus, P. kuhlii, P. nathusii, P. hanaki, Hypsugo savii, Vespertilio murinus, Eptesicus serotinus, E. bottae, Plecotus auritus, P. austriacus, P. kolombatovici, P. macrobullaris, Barbastella barbastellus, Minio pterus schreibersii, Tadarida teniotis and Rousettus aegyptiacus (Hanák et al, 2001;Simmons, 2005;Sfougaris, 2009;Strachinis et al 2018). The Egyptian fruit bat, R. aegyptiacus, has been recorded only on the island of Kastellorizo and it is still unknown whether it roosts on the island or it travels from the Turkish mainland -given the short distance -to forage (Strachinis et al, 2018).…”

Palynoflora and palaeoenvironment of the early Miocene palaeolake from the Bełchatów mine, central Poland

“…The fos sil bat, found within de pos its con tain ing the lower Mio cene plant macroremains from Bełchatów, rep re sents the palaeotropical fam ily Pteropodidae (Megachiroptera) and pre sum ably is re lated to the re cent spe cies Rousettus aegyptiacus (Rzebik-Kowalska and Kowalski, 2001). This is the only member of the Pteropodidae fam ily that has a large part of its dis tribu tion in the Palaearctic re gion (along the sea coasts of the Med i ter ra nean, from Egypt to Leb a non, and the Mid dle East, from SW Tur key and Cy prus up to Pa ki stan and In dia; Benda et al, 2011) and the only mem ber of Megachiroptera found in Eu -rope (is land of Kastellorizo, Dodecanese, Greece; Strachinis et al, 2018). The pres ence of this rep re sen ta tive of the Pteropodidae in the lower Mio cene of Bełchatów (the world's northern most fos sil site of Megachiroptera) in di cates a warm, subtrop i cal cli mate and the pres ence of for est (ar bo real) veg e tation, as Rousettus aegyptiacus com pletely de pends on the avail abil ity of fresh parts of plants (mainly fruits, also leaves and pol len are eaten) dur ing the en tire year (Korine et al, 1996;Rzebik-Kowalska and Kowalski, 2001).…”

A Review on Emerging Infectious Diseases Prioritized Under the 2018 WHO Research and Development Blueprint: Lessons from the Indian Context

“…This review outlines the absence of EboV human infection case outbreaks in India. The presence of vector fruit bats, R. aegyptiacus (Pteropodidae), has been reported in northwestern India (Strachinis et al 2018), thereby delineating a real risk for transmission of EboV if favorable conditions occur in this part of the country. Besides, the high human migration due to the globalization of the world is another key determinant for the emergence of infectious diseases such as RVFV disease in India.…”