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Roberto Toffoli

  • Biodiversity Journal, 9 (4): 351-356

    Roberto Toffoli, Giovanni Boano, Anna Bonardi, Massimo Evangelista, Marco Pavia & Fabrizio Silvano
    Contribution to the bats knowledge of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, Loreto, Peru (Mammalia Chiroptera)
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2018.9.4.351.356

    ABSTRACT
    Bats species richness (Mammalia Chiroptera) in Neotropical localities is generally higher than that of any other group of mammals. Surveys of local bat assemblages may provide useful data for conservation management plans. This paper presents bat records based on a chiropterological collection obtained during a preliminary multi-taxa survey (ECOMUSA Project) conducted by the Museo di Storia Naturale di Carmagnola (Torino, Italy) and the Universidad Nacional de la Amazonia Peruana, Iquitos (Loreto, Peru) in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve (PSNR), where information on bats are scarce, with the aim of contributing a preliminary check of the bats listed between the Marañón, Ucayali, and Amazon rivers south of Iquitos. The survey was conducted from March 14 to March 24, 2002, in two sites of the PSNR. 74 bats of 19 species (18 Phyllostomidae, 1 Emballonuridae) were collected. The most collected species was Sturnira lilium, which makes up 28% of the captured bats, followed by Carollia perspicillata. In general, the composition of the bat community detected during this short survey in PSNR corresponds to the typical composition of neotropical rainforests. Despite the short duration of the survey, the collected data contributes to the knowledge of bats in PSNR and in the area between the Marañón, Ucayali, and Amazon rivers south of Iquitos, and represents the first record of Rhynchonycteris naso in this area.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 8 (4): 881-884

    Roberto Toffoli
    Elevation record for Myotis daubentonii in the Italian Western Alps (Mammalia Chiroptera Vespertilionidae)

    ABSTRACT
    Five captures of Myotis daubentonii (Kühl, 1817) (Mammalia Chiroptera Vespertilionidae) are here reported at an altitudes between 1828 and 2050 meters on the Italian Western Alps in foraging and swarming sites. An immature male was captured at 2050 meters of altitude while looking for food on an alpine wetland, resulting in the altitude record for this species in Italy. Data also confirm the presence of females of the species at an altitudes greater than 2000 meters in swarming sites, raising the recorded altitude limit for the females of this species in Italy.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 16 (1): 169-176

    Roberto Toffoli
    An assessment of the current and historical records of the Schreibers’ Bent-Winged Bat Miniopterus schreibersii (Kuhl, 1817) in Piedmont (Northwest Italy)
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2025.16.1.169.176

    ABSTRACT
    The presence of Miniopterus schreibersii in Piedmont (Italy) is being updated. The species was first reported in the Region in 1973, and until 2000 only five records were known. Subsequently, the number of presence data increased due to improved acoustic identification capabilities. From 1973 to 2025, thirty records of the species were collected concerning specimens foraging or in transit, and two hibernation roosts were frequented by single specimens. One of the two roosts is the Rio Martino Cave where the species has been regularly present in winter since 2018 with up to a maximum of four single specimens in 2025. In the last decade, the presence of the species in Piedmont has become more regular compared to previous years, suggesting a regular presence of the species in the Region.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 10 (3): 249-257

    Roberto Toffoli
    The bats of the Rio Martino Cave, North West Italy (Mammalia Chiroptera)
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2019.10.3.249.257

    ABSTRACT
    We present the results of a monitoring of the hibernating bats (Mammalia Chiroptera) in the Rio Martino Cave (North West Italy) and a survey of swarming activity. In total, 13 species of cave-dwelling bats were detected. During winter monitoring, 12 species of bats were recorded. The most abundant bat was Barbastella barbastellus (Schreber, 1774) which represents 91.5% of the total hibernating bats documented in the cave, and its number has increased significantly, reaching a maximum of 410 bats in the winter of 2013–2014. A significant positive trend in population increase was also observed for Myotis emarginatus (E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1806). Between 2009 and 2010, a total of 354 bats belonging to 9 species were captured, thus confirming swarming activity for Myotis emarginatus and the presence of M. bechsteinii (Kuhl, 1817). The results confirm the importance of the Rio Martino Cave for the conservation of cave-dwelling bats in the Italian western Alps.