The bats (Chiroptera, Mammalia) from the Early Miocene of Petersbuch (Bavaria, Southern Germany)

The bats from the Petersbuch 28 and 62 fossil localities include 10 species of Rhinolophidae, Megadermatidae and Vespertilionidae families. Three taxa are new: Hanakia agadjaniani nov. sp., Miostrellus petersbuchensis nov. sp. and Plecotus schoepfelii nov. sp. In both taphocenosis the rhinolophids predominate, especially Rhinolophus lemanensis. P. schoepfelii nov. sp. from Petersbuch 62 represents the earliest record of this genus in Europe; its lower molars are submyotodont. The small vespertilionid M. petersbuchensis nov. sp. is characterised by the absence of a diastema between the incisors and upper canine. H. agadjaniani nov. sp., the most generalized and primitive species of the Eptesicini tribe, has large P2-3/p2-3 and extremely reduced M3/m3. The bat faunas of Petersbuch 28 and 62 are similar to the Early Miocene faunal assemblages of Wintershof-West and Stubersheim 3 of Germany, but probably are somewhat younger; the biostratigraphic correlation of the Petersbuch faunas, based on rodents and insectivores, is MN 3/4. The large number of Rhinolophidae and Megadermatidae indicates a tropical or subtropical environment during the time of deposition. The peculiar aggregation of bat taxa in the Petersbuch taphocenosis frequently indicates an avian pellet origin, but natural death also codetermined the bone accumulation and subsequent associative fossilization.