Authors
Adrià López Baucells, Maria Mas, Xavier Puig-Montserrat, Carles Flaquer
Publication date
2013
Journal
Barbastella
Volume
6
Issue
1
Pages
63-70
Description
Albinism and leucism are commonly confused in the literature. Despite the fact that these congenial disorders affect only a small proportion of bat populations, they seem to be widely spread since reports of affected bats are found from over the world. In this communication we report for the first time a leucistic Pipistrellus pygmaeus (Leach 1825). It was captured in the Ebro Delta Natural Park (Iberian Peninsula) in a biological field station near a wetland with rice paddies, where over 100 bat boxes are deployed to monitor bat populations. The individual had whitish fur over the whole of its body (dorsal and ventral parts); nevertheless its eyes and wing membranes had normal pigmentation. Although an albino P. pygmeaus has been reported from Spain, this represents the first report of leucism in this species.
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