Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774)

52. Greater Horseshoe Bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774) View in CoL

(IUCN Red List: LC)

Subspecies: R. f. ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774) .

Distribution: Common in the limestone caverns and other suitable retreats along the Euphrates Valley, in the wooden habitats in the northwestern and southwestern regions, and on mountains along the coast ( Fig. 59 View FIGURE 59 ).

Previous records: Qal’at Najim ( Nostitz 1873), Katir Magara and ar-Raqqa ( Ebenau 1996), Mount Hermon, Amwd, Latakia, Qal’at Salah ad-Din, ar-Rawda near Rabi’ah, es- Salihiyyeh, Busra, Qal’at Sheizar, Qal’at Najim, Qal’at Samaan, Qatura, Qal’at Al-Hosson, Qal’at Al-Marqab, Qal’at Nimrud, Gamla ( Benda et al. 2006), Qal’at Sama’an, Qal’at Salah ad-Din, and Basofan ( Shehab et al. 2007), and Fajlit and az-Zahabiyah ( Al-Ramadan et al. 2020).

Recent record: ash-Sheikh Badr and Jurd Hurayra (2021), Wadi aj-Jouz (2022).

Remarks: The Syrian populations of R. ferrumequinum show a remarkable metric variability (large-sized bats in the Mediterranean regions, small-sized in the arid habitats of Mesopotamia, intermediate in size in the transient regions, which were primarily interpreted as distinct taxa). Two subspecies were reported from Syria: large-sized R. f. ferrumequinum and small-sized R. f. irani Cheesman, 1921 (cf. Benda et al. 2006). However, molecular genetic analyses did not support any infraspecific division of the west-Palaearctic populations of R. ferrumequinum ( Flanders et al. 2009; Benda & Vallo 2012; Benda et al. 2012).