Arxius de Miscel·lània Zoològica, 16 (2018): 112–120
Mokrani
et al.
ISSN:
1698–0476
Rapid assessment
of cave–dwelling bat diversity
in the Chebket ES–Sellaoua
Mountains (Eastern Algeria)
Y. Mokrani, F. Mimeche, Y. Nouidjem, M. Saheb
Mokrani, Y., Mimeche, F., Nouidjem, Y., Saheb, M., 2018. Rapid assessment of cave–dwelling
bat diversity in the Chebket ES–Sellaoua Mountains (Eastern Algeria). Arxius de Miscel·lània
Zoològica, 16: 112–120, Doi: https://doi.org/10.32800/amz.2018.16.0112
Abstract
Rapid assessment of cave–dwelling bat diversity in the Chebket ES–Sellaoua Mountains
(Eastern Algeria). Information about the ecology and lifestyle of bats (Chiroptera) in Algeria
is scarce. In this paper, we present the results of an inventory study of Chiroptera fauna in
the Chebket ES–Sellaoua Mountains in Eastern Algeria, conducted between January 2014
and December 2015. Surveys were carried out in 10 caves throughout the region by means
of a visual survey and animal captures. Five species were detected: Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Myotis punicus, Miniopterus schreibersiand Pipistrellus
Kuhli, belonging to three families: Rhinolophidae, Miniopteridae and Vespertilionidae.
Data published in Mendeley and Zenodo (Doi:10.17632/vh83vg9n9j.2).
Key words: Bats, Caves, Inventory, Chebket ES–Sellaoua, Algeria
Resumen
Valoración rápida de la diversidad de murciélagos que habitan las cuevas de las montañas
de Chebket ES–Sellaoua (este de Argelia). La información sobre la ecología y hábitos de
vida de los murciélagos de Argelia es muy limitada. Este trabajo recoge los resultados de
un estudio realizado para inventariar la fauna de quirópteros de las montañas de Chebket
ES–Sellaoua (este de Argelia) entre enero de 2014 y diciembre de 2015. Las prospecciones incluyeron observaciones visuales y capturas de especímenes. Se identificaron
cinco especies, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Myotis punicus,
Miniopterus schreibersi y Pipistrellus kuhli pertenecientes a tres familias, Rhinolophidae,
Miniopteridae y Vespertilionidae.
Datos publicados en Mendeley y Zenodo (Doi:10.17632/vh83vg9n9j.2).
Palabras clave: Murciélagos, Cuevas, Inventario, Chebket ES–Sellaoua, Argelia
Resum
Valoració ràpida de la diversitat de ratpenats que habiten les coves de les muntanyes de
Chebket ES–Sellaoua (est d'Algèria). La informació sobre l'ecologia i els hàbits de vida dels
© [2018] Copyright belongs to the authors, who license the journal Arxius de Miscel·lània Zoològica to publish the
paper under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License, which permits its distribution, and reproduction
in any medium, provided the original authors and source, the journal Arxius de Miscel·lània Zoològica, are cited.
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ratpenats d'Algèria és molt limitada. Aquest treball recull els resultats d'un estudi destinat a
inventariar la fauna de quiròpters de les muntanyes de Chebket ES–Sellaoua (est d'Algèria)
entre gener de 2014 i desembre de 2015. Les prospeccions van incloure observacions
visuals i captures d'espècimens. Es van identificar cinc espècies, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Myotis punicus, Miniopterus schreibersi i Pipistrellus kuhli
pertanyents a tres famílies, Rhinolophidae, Miniopteridae i Vespertilionidae.
Dades publicades a Mendeley i Zenodo (Doi:10.17632/vh83vg9n9j.2).
Paraules clau: Ratpenats, Coves, Inventari, Chebket ES–Sellaoua, Algèria.
Rebut: 04/10/2017; Conditional acceptance: 03/01/2018; Final acceptance: 28/05/2018
Yassmina Mokrani & Menouar Saheb, Dept. of Natural and Life Sciences, Univ. of Oum
El–Bouaghi, Oum El–Bouaghi, Algeria.– Fateh Mimeche, Dept. of Agricultural Sciences, Fac.
of Sciences, Univ. of M'sila, M’sila, Algeria.– Yassine Nouidjem, Dept. of Natural and Life
Sciences, Fac. of Sciences, Univ. of M’sila, M'sila, Algeria.
Corresponding author: Fateh Mimeche. E–mail: mimechefateh@gmail.com
Introduction
Bats (Chiroptera) are a diverse mammal order that is unified by the ability to fly (Banfield
et al., 1977; Tremblay and Jutras, 2010). Most bats are nocturnal, resting during the day
and becoming active at night. They commonly roost in cracks in rock walls, in cliffs or old
walls, in hollow trees, caves, old mines and nooks of buildings such as granaries (Dietz et
al., 2009). Besides specific locations (López–Baucells et al., 2012), bats have been studied
in North African countries such as Morocco (Laurent, 1937; Panouse, 1951; Strinati, 1953;
Brosset, 1955; Hill, 1964; Dieuleveut et al., 2010), Tunisia (Deleuil and Labbe, 1955; Aellen
and Strinati, 1970; Baker, 1976), and Libya (Hufnagel and Craig-Bennett, 1972; Benda et
al., 2004) (Ahmime, 2017).
Algerian bats have been the subject of work by Laurent (1944), Anciaux de Favaux
(1976), Gaisler (1983), Kowalski and Rzebik–Kowalska (1991), who established an initial
list of species and reported the existence of 26 species of bats; and Ahmime and Moali
(2013). The Chiroptera reported from Algeria belong to the Palaearctic region (Corbet, 1978).
However, knowledge of this fauna is relatively poorly in Eastern Algeria. In the present
study, we provide a new check list of bats found in caves of Chebket ES–Sellaoua in Eastern Algeria over two consecutive years.
Material and methods
Study area
Located in the eastern part of the Algeria, the Chebket ES–Sellaoua Mountains are situated
in the region of AinArko (Municipality of Tamlouka) in the province of Guelma; geographic
coordinates being 36º 5' 28'' N and 7º 6' 52'' E (fig. 1).
The area has a semi–arid Mediterranean climate that is typically continental. It is located
in the region of high plains and has a medium altitude that exceeds 800 m. The annual
rainfall rate is 501.0 mm and the average temperature is 14.1 ºC. The nature of the rock is
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Mokrani et al.
7º 4' 0'' E
Qued
Ain
Rekada Zenti
Ain
Abid
Ain
Makhlouf
N
W
Tamlouka
E
S
36º 4' 0'' N
0 4.25 8.50
GC E C
BH
B T
D A
R DB
El
Amiria
17 km
Ksar
El Sahihi
Ain El
Diss
Ain
Bebouche
7º 4' 0'' E
Coordinates System GCS WGS 1984
Datum WGS 1984
Units Degrees
Fig. 1. Map of study area in the eastern part of the Algeria. Cave name and codes: A,
Bouchadjra; B, Bouchkara; BH, Bouhadjra; C, Zone n° 4; D, Dhib; DB, El Dharbane;
E, Zone n° 8; GC, Gaz Carbonique; R, El Rmel; T, Thour.
Fig. 1. Mapa del área de estudio en la región oriental de Argelia. (Para el nombre de
las cuevas y sus códigos, véase arriba.)
calcareous (rich in zinc), and the mountains are home to a number of plants; particularly
Artemisia herba alba, Asteraceae asterales, Zizyphus vulgaris, Thymelaea hirsuta and
Olea europaea.
Data acquisition and statistical analysis
Bats were studied using common techniques such as mist–netting, hand–netting, flip–netting,
and observation in buildings and underground sites (Puechmaille et al., 2012). Two methods
were mainly used to trap bats. The first was based on capturing bats in flight by means
of a mobile trap (this device consists of a handle of 1.20 m long, to which is attached a
fixed and rigid metal ring of 35 cm diameter connected to a net). The second method was
hand–netting. We used the identification keys of Dietz and Von Helversen (2004), Dietz
(2005) and Dieuleveut et al. (2010).
The captures were made in caves in the Chebket ES–Sellaoua Mountains (table 1)
between January 2014 and December 2015 at intervals of one or two months. There are
more than 20 caves in the study area, ten of which are inhabited by bats. These caves were
excavated in 1873 by French companies conducting mining research during the colonial
period, and official mining began in August 1905 with the creation of the Zinc Mining Society
of Ain Arko (fig. 2). All visits were carried out for at least four hours, in calm weather, with
little or no wind, and no rain in the morning.
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Table 1. Caves characteristics: Lat, latitude; Long, longitude; A, altitude (in m); L,
Length (in m); H, height (in m).
Tabla 1. Características de las cuevas: Lat, latitud; Long, longitud; A, altitud (en m);
L, longitud (en m); H, profundidad (en m).
Site
ID
Lat
Long
A
L
H
El Dharbane
DB
N: 36° 04' 36.8''
E: 07° 07' 35.4''
896
350
1.85
El Rmel
R
N: 36° 04' 32.4''
E: 07° 07' 31.5''
886
400
2
Dhib
D
N: 36° 05' 33.1''
E: 07° 06° 47.7''
800
450
1.5
Bouchadjra
A
N: 36° 05' 33.7''
E: 07° 06' 47''
821
800
1.5
Bouchkara
B
N: 36° 05' 33.2''
E: 07° 05' 47''
819
550
1.8
Thour
T
N: 36° 05' 33.7''
E: 07° 06' 47.1"
822
30
1.5
Zone n° 4
C
N: 36° 05' 33.8"
E: 07° 06' 48.6"
823
120
1.5
Gaz Carbonique
GC
N: 36° 05' 33.9"
E: 07° 06' 46.8"
823
550
1.60
Zone n° 8
E
N: 36° 05' 34.1"
E: 07° 06' 48.3"
824
26
1.5
Bouhadjra
BH
N: 36° 05' 33.1"
E: 07° 06' 48.3"
806
4.5
1.30
Fig. 2. Cave Dhib (D).
Fig. 2. Cueva Dhib (D).
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Table 2. Data on bats detected in Chebket ES–Sellaoua Mountains (2014–2015). M, method
of identification: * capture; ** visual. See table 1 for the cavity codes. IUCN, IUCN Red
List conservation status: LC, Least Concern; NT, Near Threatened; DD, Data Deficient.
Tabla 2. Datos sobre murciélagos detectados en las montañas Chebket ES–Sellaoua
(2014–2015). M, método de identificación: * captura; ** visual. Véase la tabla 1 para los
códigos de las cavidades. IUCN, estado de conservación según la Lista Roja de la UICN:
LC, preocupación menor; NT, casi amenazadas; DD, datos insuficientes.
Species
Cavity
Indiv.
Date
M
IUCN
A
1
11/01/2014
*
LC
Rhinolophus ferrumequinum
T
2
15/05/2014
*
LC
Pipistrellus kuhlii
D
2
13/05/2015
*
LC
Rhinolophus hipposideros
Miniopterus schreibersii
GC
3
20/02/2014
*
NT
Myotis punicus
DB
105
02/01/2014
**
DD
R
nearly 2,000
16/01/2014
**
DD
B
45
05/10/2014
**
DD
C
27
18/05/2015
**
DD
E
5
13/07/2015
**
DD
BH
5
14/08/2015
*
DD
D
37
03/05/2015
**
DD
Results and Discusion
This study is the first to evaluate bats occurring in Chebket ES–Sellaoua Mountains (eastern
Algeria). A total of ten sites were visited during the study period. Three families were observed
in this region: Vespertilionidae (two species), Rhinolophidae (two species), and Miniopteridae (one species). The five species were: Myotis punicus, Pipistrellus kuhlii, Rhinolophus
ferrumequinum, R. hipposideros, Miniopterus schreibersii (table 2; Mendeley dataset:
doi:10.17632/vh83vg9n9j.2). All species detected are cited as Endangered Species on
the Red List of IUCN (IUCN, 2018), and are protected at the national level by Decree No.
12–235 of 24 May 2012 establishing the list of protected non–domestic animal species
(Joradp, 2012).
Myotispunicus (Felten, Spitzenberger and Storch, 1977), the Maghrebian mouse–eared B
The most abundant species was Myotis punicus. It was found in seven caves (fig. 3). The
area of distribution is wide, ranging from the littoral coasts to the south of the Saharan Atlas
(Ahmime, 2017). It is the most frequently observed species in Algeria according to Aulagnier
and Thévenot (1986).This species was reported by Ahmime (2014) at Aokas and Souk El
Thenine (littoral coasts) with a relative abundance of 24.35 %. It was observed throughout
the study period with maximum numbers during the hibernation period in winter (January
2014) because this area provides ideal conditions (very high humidity, low temperature, no
disturbance) (table 2).
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Mokrani et al.
Fig. 3. Specimen of Myotis punicus.
Fig. 3. Espécimen de Myotis punicus.
Pipistrellus kuhlii (Kuhl, 1819)
Pipistrellus kuhlii was seen only in Dhib cave with M. punicus (fig. 4).This bat was previously
considered as being two distinct species, P. deserti and P. kuhlii, but the recent work of
Ahmime (2014) showed that it was ultimately Kuhl's pipistrelle This species is encountered
from the littoral coasts to the central and western part of the Sahara. It is a known species
in the south (Ahmime, 2017).
Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774)
Two individuals of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum were observed in the Thour cave (fig. 5).
This species is a common species in northern Algeria, found from the littoral coasts to
Fig. 4. Specimen of Pipistrellus kuhlii.
Fig. 4. Espécimen de Pipistrellus kuhlii.
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Fig. 5. Specimen of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum.
Fig. 5. Espécimen de Rhinolophus ferrumequinum.
the Saharan Atlas (Loche, 1858, 1867). It was recently encountered by Ahmime (2014)
in Chaabet El Akhra (Kherrata) and Tichy (Bejaia) with a relative abundance of 36.44 %.
Rhinolophus hipposideros (Bechstein, 1800)
One specimen of Rhinolophus hipposideros was captured in January 2014 in Bouchadjra
cave (fig. 6). This bat has a fairly wide range; it is relatively common in the northern part
Fig. 6. Specimen of Rhinolophus hipposideros.
Fig. 6. Espécimen de Rhinolophus hipposideros.
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of Algeria (Anciaux de Faveaux, 1976). It was reported by Ahmime (2014) in Ifri, Kherrata
and Tichy (Bejaia Department).
Miniopterus schreibersi (Kuhl, 1817)
Three individuals of Miniopterus schreibersi were captured in Gaz Carbonique cave. Kowalski
et al. (1986) and Kowalski (1979) observed this species in Tlemcen, Oran and Constantine.
Ahmime (2014) reported it in Aokas and Souk El Thenine.
The collected data show a low diversity of bats species in Chebket ES–Sellaoua mountains,
with five species. However, the description of the region’s bat population is incomplete and
additional surveys may unveil new bat taxa or bat occurrences for the region. We suggest
the creation of a management plan that will allow the conservation of this biodiversity in
these ecosystems.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Mr Sébastien Blache (LPO, Drome–France) for his help.
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