Algeria is the largest country in Africa (2,381,741km²), with 85% of the area consisting of the Sahara opening on to the Mediterranean (1,200 km coastline). Initially, 26 species of microbats were reported, and no comprehensive study has been undertaken since 1991. The advent of genetic molecular studies has revealed some species to be the same (Pipistrellus deserti and Pipistrellus kuhlii) while others have had their nomenclature changed (Eptisecus isabellinus instead of Eptisecus serotinus, Plecotus gaisleri instead of Plecotus austriacus, Rhinopoma cystops instead of Rhinopoma hardwickei). Miniopterus schreibersii is now classified in the new family of Miniopteridae. These changes have corrected the number of Algerian bat species to 25, belonging to seven different families. All species are threatened globally and are protected at the national level by Decree 12-135.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a widespread pathogen that could cause different illnesses in both human and animals. Presence of MRSA in animals raises concerns of their capacity to act as reservoirs, particularly in wild animals. This study aimed to characterize the resistance and virulence patterns of S. aureus strains isolated from bat guano in Algeria. From March to May 2016, 98 bat guano samples from Aokas’s cave (Bejaia, Algeria) were collected. Swabs were taken for microbiological studies. Isolates were identified by Vitek^® MS system, and antibiotic susceptibility was determined by disk diffusion method. The clonal origin, virulence and antibiotic resistance profiles of S. aureus isolates were characterized by whole genome sequencing. Eleven S. aureus strains were obtained from the 98 guano samples. Seven isolates were sensitive to all antibiotics tested and four (36.3%) were resistant to penicillin G, cefoxitin and fusidic acid. The four MRSA isolates were assigned to the sequence type ST149 and related to spa type t010. These isolates harbored a SCCmecIV element and the fusidic acid resistance element Q6GD50 (fusC). They carried different virulence genes including several enterotoxins (sea, egc enterotoxin locus, sec, sel), and the toxic shock syndrome toxin (tst). Our results highlight that bat guano may constitute an important reservoir of MRSA strains.

We recorded and analysed sequences belonging to 11 bat species from Northern Algeria, in order to compare the baseline results with studies performed across the region, where potentially major geographical barriers may have limited gene flow and population dynamics. We have found that most of the Rhinolophus species exhibit some form of variation, especially regarding the values of the maximum energy frequency (CF), while vespertilionides differ mostly in pulse start frequency. The shape of the pulse and the terminal frequency usually define most of the variation for this family.

The common genet (Genetta genetta Linnaeus, 1758) is a rare and protected mammal species in Algeria. We report the first melanistic individual of this species ever recorded in North Africa. Such animals have only been recorded in Spain and Portugal so far. It is unclear why melanistic common genets seem to be so rare in its African range. More research is needed to determine the true occurrence of melanistic individuals, and what the evolutionary history of melanism is in common genets.

Islands provide unique opportunities to study historical biogeography, acting as both cradles of endemism and active corridors for species dispersal. The Sicilian Channel, which separates Sicily from the Maghreb, exemplifies this complexity. We investigated the colonisation history of the lesser horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus hipposideros ) on Pantelleria Island (southern Italy) to assess whether its population derives from Europe or North Africa. Because R. hipposideros has limited dispersal ability and is largely sedentary, its occurrence on Pantelleria raises questions about past connectivity across the Channel. We analysed mitochondrial markers (COI, cyt‐b, 12S) from Pantelleria, Malta, Algeria, and across the species' range. Phylogenetic and haplotype network analyses place Pantelleria and Malta in a well‐supported clade sister to North African lineages and distinct from European populations. Time‐calibrated analyses based on cyt‐b suggest that the Pantelleria–Malta group diverged from North African conspecifics around 200,000 years ago (MIS 7.2). A palaeogeographical reconstruction for this interval indicates lowered sea level reduced the marine gap between Pantelleria and Tunisia to about 68 km, consistent with over‐sea colonisation from North Africa. The short available sequences for conspecific European bats suggest considering these inferences as provisional. Within these limitations, our results are most consistent with a Maghrebian origin for Pantelleria's R. hipposideros , while alternative routes (including European sources) cannot be excluded. Broader genomic sampling, especially from Sicily and Morocco, will be required to resolve colonisation direction and fully establish the population's biogeographic history. More generally, our findings reinforce the view of the Sicilian Channel as an asymmetrically permeable biogeographic corridor that can facilitate faunal exchange across the central Mediterranean.

In January 2015, a colony of approximately 50 individuals of Rhinopoma cystops was found, and 10 Asellia tridens were netted in a cave of Béchar, Algeria, near the border with Morocco, southwestern Algerian Sahara. These two species were recorded previously in Algeria, but Rhinopoma cystops has been registered in Béchar for the first time. Therefore, information regarding the distribution and geographic variation of this species are also provided in the present study.