Body mass variations of Pipistrellus kuhlii and Eptesicus isabellinus were studied in the Bou Hedma National Park (central Tunisia) from June 2010 to June 2011. In both species, adult females were significantly heavier than males throughout the year. Seasonal variations were larger in adult females, body mass peaking during late pregnancy. After a secondary peak in September–October observed in both sexes in E. isabellinus, in males only in P. kuhlii, body mass reached a minimum value in winter when activity is low. Significant differences were also noticed between years in June for both species. Such pattern of seasonal variations of sexual size dimorphism is typical of hibernating vespertilionids.
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1 July 2016
Seasonal variations of sexual size dimorphism in two Mediterranean bat species from Tunisia: the Kuhl's pipistrelle (Pipistrellus kuhlii) and the Isabelline serotine (Eptesicus isabellinus)
Ridha Dalhoumi,
Patricia Aissa,
Stéphane Aulagnier
Folia Zoologica
Vol. 65 • No. 2
July 2016
Vol. 65 • No. 2
July 2016
body mass
northwest Africa
pregnancy
Vespertlionidae
winter