Documentation of Hilgendorf’s tube-nosed bat (Murina hilgendorfi) roosting in a concrete crevice beyond forest environments in Saitama Prefecture

Abstract

We conducted monitoring of a concrete crevice (approximately 25 mm wide) situated beneath a highway serving as a potential roosting site in urban and farmland areas of Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, from February 10, 2021, to January 18, 2024 (a span of 277 days). During this monitoring period, on October 30, 2022, we observed the presence of Hilgendorf’s tube-nosed bat (Murina hilgendorfi) utilizing the crevice as a daytime roost. This observation is noteworthy as instances of roosts of this species occurring outside forested areas are uncommon.