@article{

   author = {Salari, Leonardo and Silvestri, Letizia},

   title = {Holocene bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) from five caves of Central Apennines (Italy)},

   journal = {Barbastella, Journal of Bat Research},

   volume = {8},

   number = {1},

   abstract = {Sixteen taxa divided into three families (Rhinolophidae, Vespertilionidae and Miniopteridae) and seven genera (Rhinolophus, Myotis, Nyctalus, Plecotus, Barbastella, Miniopterus and Hypsugo vel Pipistrellus) have been recorded among the microvertebrate remains from five caves of the Central Apennines (Italy). Archaeological excavations were carried out in the caves Grotta Bella in Umbria, Grotta Continenza in Abruzzi, Grotta Mora Cavorso, Grotta Regina Margherita and Grotta di Pastena in Latium, over the last decades. The chronology of the sites spans from the early to middle Holocene (Mesolithic to the Bronze Age). Taphonomic observations suggest that the majority of the bat assemblages examined are autochthonous

thanatocoenoses. The microclimate of the caves and the surrounding paleoenvironments can be reconstructed on the basis of ecological attributes of these taxa. The relative abundance of bat remains in the cave sediments testifies to the absence or the sporadic presence of humans in these sites during the corresponding time spans. The occurrence of Rhinolophus mehelyi in Central Italy during the early and middle Holocene adds new information on the geographical distribution of this species in the past.},

   keywords = {Chiroptera

Holocene

Italy

ecology

microclimate

biogeography

human activities},

   ISSN = {15769720},

   DOI = {http://dx.doi.org/10.14709/BarbJ.8.1.2015.06},

   year = {2015},

   type = {Journal Article}

}