NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Sardinian Long-eared Bat
Plecotus sardus Mucedda, Kiefer, Pidinchedda & Veith, 2002
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Sardinian long-eared bat (Plecotus sardus) is a critically-endangered species of bat endemic to Sardinia, Italy.
This species was discovered in 2002 in the caves of central Sardinia, the type locality being a cave in Lanaitto's Valley in the Oliena District. It appears to be closely related to Plecotus auritus and Plecotus macrobullaris. It was identified as a new species by a study clearly showing divergence from other Plecotus species in its mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene.
Wikipedia contributors, Sardinian long-eared bat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:48:07.422228+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Plecotus sardus Mucedda, Kiefer, Pidinchedda & Veith, 2002
- Name authority
- Mucedda, Kiefer, Pidinchedda & Veith, 2002
- Common name
- Sardinian Long-eared Bat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Chiroptera
- Family
- Vespertilionidae
- Genus
- Plecotus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderChiroptera Blumenbach, 1779
- suborderYangochiroptera Koopman, 1984
- superfamilyVespertilionoidea Gray, 1821
- familyVespertilionidae Gray, 1821
- subfamilyVespertilioninae Gray, 1821
- tribePlecotini Gray, 1866
- genusPlecotus E. Geoffroy, 1818
- speciesPlecotus sardus Mucedda, Kiefer, Pidinchedda & Veith, 2002
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Plecotus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Himalayan Long-eared BatPlecotus homochrous Hodgson, 1847 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Alpine Long-eared BatPlecotus macrobullaris Kuzyakin, 1965 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ognev's Long-eared BatPlecotus ognevi Kishida, 1927 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Japanese Long-eared BatPlecotus sacrimontis G. M. Allen, 1908 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Strelkov's Long-eared BatPlecotus strelkovi Spitzenberger, 2006 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Formosan Long-eared BatPlecotus taivanus Yoshiyuki, 1991 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray Long-eared BatPlecotus austriacus (J. Fischer, 1829) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Canary Long-eared BatPlecotus teneriffae Barrett-Hamilton, 1907 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gaisler's Big-eared BatPlecotus gaisleri Benda, Kiefer, Hanak & Veith, 2004 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brown Long-eared BatPlecotus auritus (Linnaeus, 1758) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bale Long-eared BatPlecotus balensis Kruskop & Lavrenchenko, 2000 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Balkan Long-eared BatPlecotus kolombatovici Dulic, 1980 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Mucedda, Mauro, Andreas Kiefer, Ermanno Pidinchedda, & and Michael Veith. (2002). A new species of long-eared bat (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from Sardinia (Italy). Acta Chiropterologica, Vol. 4, No. 2. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4K2ZR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.