Correction to: Biologia (2024) 79:2789-2803

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-024-01742-1

This correction stands to correct the original article wherein the authors claimed that two species of small mammals, namely Microtus rossiaemeridionalis (Ognev, 1924) and Myotis tschuliensis (Kuzyakin, 1935), were recorded for the first time as a result of their research. However, it has come to the authors' attention that the latter species had been previously mentioned in Georgia several years prior. Coraman et al. (2019), while studying the M. nattereri complex of the western Palearctic, were the first to propose M. tschuliensis as a distinct species rather than a subspecies of M. nattereri based on genetic evidence. Their study primarily focused on landscape genetics and phylogeography of M. nattereri sensu lato rather than a comprehensive taxonomic reclassification and survey of taxa distribution. Thus, it is not surprising that only two specimens of the M. nattereri species complex were included from westernmost Georgia by these authors. However, they concluded that the whole of Georgia (and the South Caucasus in general) is occupied by a lineage (later named M. tschuliensis) rather than M. nattereri as previously thought. The authors’ work builds upon their foundational discovery by confirming the presence of M. tschuliensis in Georgia. Moreover, the authors’ study extends the understanding of bat biodiversity in the region by documenting the coexistence of both M. tschuliensis and M. nattereri in the Caucasus region, a finding that had not been reported. Thus, while the research of Coraman et al. was instrumental in the initial identification and taxonomic proposal, the authors’ work contributes to the broader ecological and biogeographical knowledge of these species in Georgia.

Furthermore, the authors request that readers take note of the previously omitted Acknowledgments and Funding sections, as provided: