Unusual roost site selection in the first recorded maternity colony of Bechstein’s bat Myotis bechsteinii (Kuhl, 1817) in Croatia

Authors

Morgan Hughes, Dušan Jelić & Thomas E. Martin

Abstract

Bechstein’s bat (Myotis bechsteinii) is a threatened European species, although remains poorly studied throughout much of its range, including in the Balkan region. Following our fieldwork in Krka National Park (KNP), in the county of Šibenik-Knin in central Croatia from 2018 to 2025, we describe here the first published record of a maternity colony of this species in Croatia. This colony consists of 10-12 females and their young and is located in the attic of an inhabited building in KNP. This is an extremely unusual record, given that other Bechstein’s bat maternity colonies are almost exclusively reported from woodland habitats. This note sheds further light on both the breeding habits and breeding distribution of the species and highlights the need for further research on Bechstein’s bat in both Croatia and the wider Balkans region.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.59922/mc-26x01pa

Full Citation

Full citation: Hughes, M., Jelić, D., Martin, T.E. (2026) Unusual roost site selection in the first recorded maternity colony of Bechstein’s bat Myotis bechsteinii (Kuhl, 1817) in Croatia. Mammal Communications 11: 1-7. (DOI: 10.59922/mc-26x01pa)