Alternative Names (Synonyms)

• Mouse-eared bat
• Vespertilio myotis Borkhausen, 1794. Germany.
• Vespertilio murinus Schreber, 1774 (not of Linnaeus 1758. Used during most of 19th century) (N.B. Vespertilio murinus - Particoloured bat).

Alternative species names (the second part of the binomial species names): [Genus] alpinus; [Genus] latipennis; [Genus] macrocephalicus; [Genus] myosotis; [Genus] submurinus; [Genus] typus; (B141).

Names for new-borns / juveniles

General Appearance

Similar Species

• Simple form of nose
• Wide-spaced ears
• Lack of post-calcarial lobe to membrane.

Distinguished from other Myotis spp.:

• Forearm length more than 50mm (more than 57mm (B142).
• (B167)

References

Species Author

Major References

Husbandry references:

• Wildlife and Countryside Directorate, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR)
• The Mammal Society
• Mammals Trust
• Bat Conservation Trust
• London Bat Group

• --

TAXA Group (where information has been collated for an entire group on a modular basis)

Parent Group

• Insectivorous Bats (Microchiroptera)

Specific Needs Group referenced in Management Techniques

• Insectivorous Bats (Microchiroptera)

Husbandry Information

Notes

• Accommodation of Casualty Insectivorous Bats
• Hand-rearing Insectivorous Bats
• Catching and Handling of Insectivorous Bats
• Feeding of Casualty Insectivorous Bats
• Release of Casualty Insectivorous Bats

Measurement & Weight

• Head-body length: 65-80mm
• Forearm: 57-68mm
• Wingspan: 365-450mm

(B142).

Head

Nose: Muzzle narrow, unspecialised. Pink nostrils and lips (B142, B167)

Ears: Thick,fleshy, well spaced. Held splayed. Relatively long (20-28mm), extend to about 5mm beyond muzzle if laid forwards, and longer length than width. Emargination on outer margin. No post-calcarial lobe. Tragus medium length, with outer edge convex, point blunt (B142, B167)

Legs and Tracks

• Calcar three fifths of foot-to tail length (B167).
• Forearm length: 57-68mm (B142).
• Wingspan: 365-450mm (B142).

Tail

• Membrane edge hairless (B167).

Coat / Pelage

• Dorsal: medium/light brown (yellowish (B167)), with sharp demarkation along side of neck from
• Ventral: greyish-white.
• Membrane: Matt, thick leathery, opaque, reddish
• Face: Pinkish or brown, bare or almost bare

(B142, B167)

Neonate (New-born) Characteristics

Detailed Anatomy Notes
(Summary information provided for pertinent species-specific data cross-referenced in Wildpro)

Natural Diet

• Insects: larger moths, chafers, beetles (B142).
• Mainly Coleaoptera (B143).

Detailed Physiology Notes
(Summary information provided for pertinent species-specific data cross-referenced in Wildpro)

Feeding Behaviour

• Hunt in forests and adjacent open cultivated areas (B143).
• Catch and eat prey in flight (B142).
• Glean large insects from ground (B143).

Parental Behaviour

Social Behaviour / Territoriality

• Females inlarge nursery colonies
• Males solitary.
• Juvenile males may be found with females.
• Individuals may move between adjacent nurseries

Winter:

• Solitary (usual) or small groups

(B142)

Sexual Behaviour

• Promiscuous (B142).
• Females visit solitary males to mate (B142).

Predation in Wild

Activity Patterns

• Flight slow, heavy, usually straight, at up to 20m high
• In winter usually hanging in high exposed sites in roosts.
• Prefered temperature for hibernation 7-8°C (Poland data).(B142).

(B142, B147)

• Emerge from roosts late, well after dark, returning when still dark about an hour before sunrise (Hungary data).
• Time of emergence does not appear to be affected by weather conditions.

(B142)

General Habitat Type

• Open, lightly wooded areas (B142).

Nests / Burrows / Shelters

• Roosts: buildings, caves (summer and winter) (B142, B143).
• Winter: internal areas of caves used in winter, nearer entrances by spring (B142).
• Caves and mines used all year in southern areas, but buildings important further north (B143).

Distribution and Movement (Migration etc.)

• Europe, including England, Azores, central and southern Europe, Ukraine, most Mediterranean islands; Asia Minor, Lebanon, Israel (B147)
• May be extinct in England (B142)
• Western Eurasia from Iberian Peninsula to Ukraine, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon and Syria, also in North Africa.(B143)
• South-west Europe eastwards to Asia Minor; Azores (B51).
• Europe: Not found Ireland, Britain, most of Scandinavia. Found as far south as Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily (B143)

Movements:

• Occasional migrant. 390km longest movement recorded (B143).

• Vagrants to southern Sweden, Latvia (B143).

--.

Intraspecific variation

• Three subspecies pesently recognised, of which only nominate form is present in Europe.
• Size increases from west to east across western Palearctic.

(B143).

Conservation Status

• Very rare (B167).
• "Effectively extinct in Britain" (B142).
• "Nearly exterminated in Great Britain, the Low Countries, and Israel, and colonies have been drastically reduced elsewhere" (B147).
• Widespread and reasonably abundant (B143).
• European populations declined from 1950s to 1970s but then stabilised and even increasing (B143).
• Population in Southern England in 1950s failed by 1990s (B143).
• In Britain: Extinct. Population estimate is considered to be reliable. (B221)

• Bern Convention, Appendix II
• Bonn Convention, Appendix II.
• EU Habitats and Species Directive, Annex II & Annex IV

(B143)

• All bats are is listed on Schedule 5 (Protected animals) of the LUK2 - Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 of the United Kingdom. (W5.Oct01)
• All bats are listed on Schedule 6 (Animals which may not be killed or taken by certain methods) of the LUK2 - Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 of the United Kingdom. (W5.Oct01)