Pygmy Pipistrelle

About the Pygmy Pipistrelle

The soprano pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus) is a small species of bat. It is found in Europe and often roosts on buildings. Until 1999, the soprano pipistrelle was considered as conspecific with the common pipistrelle. It is possible that these two species diverged from one another in the Mediterranean, resulting in the soprano pipistrelle having the ability to thermoregulate at temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius. Since the two species were split, a number of other differences, in appearance, habitat and food, have also been discovered. The two species were first distinguished on the basis of the different frequency of their echolocation calls. The common pipistrelle uses a call of 45 kHz, while the soprano pipistrelle echolocates at 55 kHz. The soprano pipistrelle is also known as the 55 kHz pipistrelle and the brown pipistrelle.

The soprano pipistrelle is known to roost throughout Europe in rooftops and houses. One study, by Lourneco and Palmeirim, suggested that the reason for a preference for rooftops was because of the available thermal differences throughout a roof. Although soprano pipistrelles can thermoregulate up to... Wikipedia →