The northernmost Rhinolophus blasii colony in Europe: permanent presence in the Padurea Craiului Mountains, Romania

The status and distribution of Blasius's horseshoe bat Rhinolophus blasii in Romania is largely unknown. Historical records suggest the presence of the species mainly in the south-western part of the country, and also in the lower MuresValley, Metaliferi and Trascau Mountains. However, old faunistic data are questionable, due to the difficult identification of medium-sized horseshoe bats and also due to the sympatric presence of the Mediterranean horseshoe bat Rhinolophus euryale. Recent and regular monitoring in North-Western Romania confirms the presence of the species in the Galaseni Cave, Padurea Craiului Mountains, in the northern part of the Apuseni mountains range. Formerly considered to be a 100% R. euryale colony, it is actually a colony where there are indications of seasonal R. blasii dominance. With this data, we provide the northernmost distribution point of R. blasii in Europe.