Folia Zool. – 52(4): 359–365 (2003) First record of Myotis alcathoe (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in Slovakia Petr BENDA 1 , Manuel RUEDI 2 and Marcel UHRIN 3 1 Department of Zoology, National Museum (Natural History), Václavské nám. 68, 115 79 Praha 1, Czech Republic; e-mail: petr.benda@nm.cz 2 Muséum d’histoire naturelle, case postale 6434, 1211 Genève 6, Switzerland; e-mail: manuel.ruedi@mhn.ville-ge.ch 3 The Muránska planina National Park Administration Office, J. Kráºa 12, 050 01 Revúca, Slovakia; e-mail: uhrin@sopsr.sk Received 2 April 2003; Accepted 14 August 2003 Abstract. Myotis alcathoe has been recorded in the territory of Slovakia for the first time. On 2 August 2001, two individuals of the species were netted at the entrance to the Stæpová jaskyÀa cave in the basaltic plateau of the Cerová vrchovina Mts (48° 12’ 23” N, 19° 54’ 37” E; 525 m a. s. l; ca. 2 km south of the village of ·urice). The species identification was confirmed by sequencing part of the mitochondrial gene ND1 in two specimens. Measurements and description of external and cranial characters, as well as description of the baculum of these two reference specimens are given for further comparisons of this poorly known species. Key words: Myotis alcathoe, Slovakia, first record, identification characters, mtDNA Introduction The Alcathoe’s bat, Myotis alcathoe Helversen et Heller, 2001, has been distinguished primarily on the basis of genetic, karyological and echolocation characters (V o l l e t h 1987, Helversen 1989, H e l v e r s e n et al. 2001) from other, very similar species belonging to M. mystacinus group. Although these characters separate very clearly M. alcathoe from either M. mystacinus (Kuhl, 1817), M. aurascens Kusjakin, 1935, M. brandtii (Eversmann, 1845), or from M. ikonnikovi Ognev, 1911 (H e l v e r s e n et al. 2001, M a y e r & Helversen 2001), its external morphology and cranial characters are rather similar to these species. H e l v e r s e n et al. (2001), and later R u e d i et al. (2002), gave a series of morphological characters which should help to discriminate this new species from other European Myotis. These characters include a reddish brown dorsal pelage (without golden tips commonly found in M. mystacinus, M. brandtii or M. aurascens), brownish colour of face and ears (not blackish), and a shorter tragus (hardly projecting beyond the ear notch). External dimensions of thumb, claws, feet and forearms are also smaller than those of other European Myotis. In short, the general appearance of M. alcathoe is a combination of a very small M. mystacinus, but with the brownish coloration typical of M. daubentonii (Kuhl, 1817), but the limited number of Alcathoe’s bats measured so far is still too small to estimate the full variation range of these morphological characters. Originally M. alcathoe has been recorded at two sites in the southern part of the Pindus Mts (Thessaly, Central Greece), at two sites in the Greek Rhodopes Mts, and at two sites in northern Hungary (the Bükk and Mátra Mts; H e l v e r s e n et al. 2001) (Fig. 1). The 359