Knowledge of species’ functional traits is essential for understanding biodiversity patterns, predicting the impacts of global environmental changes, and assessing the efficiency of conservation measures. Bats are major components of mammalian diversity and occupy a variety of ecological niches and geographic distributions. However, an extensive compilation of their functional traits and ecological attributes is still missing. Here we present EuroBaTrait 1.0, the most comprehensive and up-to-date trait dataset covering 47 European bat species. The dataset includes data on 118 traits including genetic composition, physiology, morphology, acoustic signature, climatic associations, foraging habitat, roost type, diet, spatial behaviour, life history, pathogens, phenology, and distribution. We compiled the bat trait data obtained from three main sources: (i) a systematic literature and dataset search, (ii) unpublished data from European bat experts, and (iii) observations from large-scale monitoring programs. EuroBaTrait is designed to provide an important data source for comparative and trait-based analyses at the species or community level. The dataset also exposes knowledge gaps in species, geographic and trait coverage, highlighting priorities for future data collection.

After being presumed extinct, the blind mole rat was rediscovered in Vučedol, Croatia. Phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial markers (cytochrome b and 16S rRNA) were conducted to classify the population. The results confirmed a distinct separation between the Lesser mole rats (Nannospalax leucodon clade) and Western mole rats (N. monticola clade). Within the N. monticola complex, six lineages were identified, which likely diverged during the Middle to Late Pleistocene. The Vučedol sample belongs to the montanosyrmiensis cytotype subclade, which was also found in Fruška Gora, Serbia. This subclade may represent a new species, showing K2P genetic distances of 4.3% to 5.7% from the "Pannonian Plain" subclade located on both banks of the Danube River. In two Pannonian localities, secondary contacts between populations of both subclades have been documented. One of them is the Kelebia –Subotička peščara population, where a unique subclade "Kelebia" was identified. Populations with montanoserbicus cytotype cluster within two distinct subclades, montanoserbicus A and montanoserbicus B, with K2P distances ranging from 4.6% to 5.3%, indicating potential species status for montanoserbicus A. In the most parsimonious network, montanoserbicus B exhibits a close relationship with the Pannonian Plain sublineage and a single sample from Bosnia and Herzegovina, showing K2P distances of 1.9% to 3.2%, suggesting that they may belong to the same species, N. monticola. Significant divergence between populations in Bosnia and Herzegovina highlights the need for further exploration of local variability and taxonomic status. Detailed analyses with additional markers from more localities are necessary before final species delimitation and taxonomic revision can occur. For now, Nannospalax monticola (Nehring, 1898) remains the sole valid name in the N. monticola complex.

Seroprevalence of lyssaviruses in certain bat species has been proven in the Republic of Croatia, but there have been no confirmed positive bat brain isolates or human fatalities associated with bat injuries/bites. The study included a retrospective analysis of bat injuries/bites, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and geographic distribution of bat injuries in persons examined at the Zagreb Antirabies Clinic, the Croatian Reference Centre for Rabies. In the period 1995–2020, we examined a total of 21,910 patients due to animal injuries, of which 71 cases were bat-related (0.32%). Of the above number of patients, 4574 received rabies PEP (20.87%). However, for bat injuries, the proportion of patients receiving PEP was significantly higher: 66 out of 71 patients (92.95%). Of these, 33 received only the rabies vaccine, while the other 33 patients received the vaccine with human rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG). In five cases, PEP was not administered, as there was no indication for treatment. Thirty-five of the injured patients were biologists or biology students (49.29%). The bat species was confirmed in only one of the exposure cases. This was a serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus), a known carrier of Lyssavirus hamburg. The results showed that the bat bites were rather sporadic compared to other human injuries caused by animal bites. All bat injuries should be treated as if they were caused by a rabid animal, and according to WHO recommendations. People who come into contact with bats should be strongly advised to be vaccinated against rabies. Entering bat habitats should be done with caution and in accordance with current recommendations, and nationwide surveillance should be carried out by competent institutions and in close collaboration between bat experts, epidemiologists and rabies experts.