| Geoffroy's bat | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus: | Myotis |
| Species: | M. emarginatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Myotis emarginatus (E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1806) | |
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Geoffroy's bat (Myotis emarginatus), also known as the notch-eared bat, is a species of vesper bat.
M. emarginatus is a medium-sized bat with long and woolly fur. The dorsal side of the torso is rust-brown to fox-red and the ventral side is a poorly delineated pale yellowish-brown. The young animals are almost fully grey. The face is light brown. The ears are brown and they have an almost right-angled notch at the outer edge and many scattered, wart-like growths on the auricle. The tip of the tragus does not reach the notch on the edge of the ear. The wings are brown and broad. The edge of the tail membrane is supported by a straight calcar and part of it has short, straight and soft hairs. [2]
Geoffroy's bat feeds primarily on spiders and flies. [1] Geoffroy's bats in southern Belgium feed primarily on blood-feeding muscid flies, primarily the stable fly and the face fly, which collectively made up up to 72% of their diet in some areas. The other primary element of their diet are web-building spiders, which make up an increased portion of their prey in areas where suitable flies are absent. Most spiders consumed by Geoffroy's bats are of the family Araneidae, with a secondary presence of Theridiidae species. Other insect species make up a lower portion of their prey intake. [3]
In Southern Basque Country, colonies of Geoffroy's bats feed on a diversity of arthropods during the beginning of the breeding season, with flies making up the largest grouping of prey. As the season progresses, populations of both spiders and flying insects peak and the bats shift to a more specialized diet with a particular emphasis on spiders. By August, the orb-web spider Araneus diadematus makes up 80% of their recorded diet. The second and third most important prey items in this area are the flies the stable fly and the housefly. [4]
Its preferred prey are either flightless, such as spiders, or do not fly by night, such as muscid flies. As such, the species feeds primarily by gleaning prey from hard surfaces and leaves. Spiderwebs are recorded in the bats' spoor, suggesting that the bats captured them directly from their webs. [3]
Iberian populations of Geoffroy's bat forage mainly in broad-leaved and mixed forests, and less commonly in coniferous plantations. Their preference for dense habitats is linked to their favored prey, web-building spiders, requiring complex vertical habitats in which to build their webs. [4] In the northwestern parts of its range, it occurs in riparian forests and grasslands. It also frequents cattle sheds, where large populations of parasitic flies occur. [3] [4] In the Mediterranean extent of its range, it frequents olive plantations. It typically roosts underground and in human buildings, often together with Rhinolophus species. [1]
Geoffroy's bat can be found in Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. [1]
The heavy dietary dependence of northwestern populations of Geoffroy's bat on blood-feeding flies make them vulnerable to human attempts to control fly populations intended to protect livestock and human health. Its feeding areas are also impact by the introduction of more efficient ventilation and sanitation in cattle sheds, which reduce the presence of flies within them and thus reduce their ecologic value for the bats. [3] Iberian colonies are instead dependent on complex, heterogenous forest habitats, which favor the proliferation of spider prey. [4]
Natterer's bat is a European vespertilionid bat with pale wings. It has brown fur tending to greyish-white on its underside. It is found across most of the continent of Europe, parts of the Near East and North Africa. It feeds on insects and other invertebrates which it catches on the wing or pursues on the ground.
The mouse-eared bats or myotises are a diverse and widespread genus (Myotis) of bats within the family Vespertilionidae. The noun "myotis" itself is a Neo-Latin construction, from the Greek "muós and "oûs", literally translating to "mouse-eared".
The Alpine long-eared bat or mountain long-eared bat is a species of long-eared bat. It was originally described from Switzerland and Austria as a species intermediate between the brown long-eared bat and the grey long-eared bat in 1965. It was later described in 2002, from France and Austria, respectively. Despite its name, this species is not restricted to the Alps, being found in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and elsewhere. It differs from other European long-eared bats, such as the brown long-eared bat, by its white underparts.
Hodgson's bat, also called the copper-winged bat or black-and-orange myotis, is a species of vesper bat in the genus Myotis, the mouse-eared bats. Favouring mountain forests, it is found throughout Central, Southeast, and East Asia, from Afghanistan to Taiwan. It is about 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long and is distinguished from most other species of bat in this range by its yellowish colouration.
The southeastern myotis is a small bat found throughout the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Plain of the southeastern United States.
The greater mouse-eared bat is a European species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae.
Rafinesque's big-eared bat, sometimes known as the southeastern big-eared bat, is a species of vesper bat native to the southeastern United States.
Bechstein's bat is a species of vesper bat found in Europe and western Asia, living in extensive areas of woodland.
The long-eared myotis is a species of vesper bat in the suborder Microchiroptera. It can be found in western Canada, the western United States, and Baja California in Mexico.
The eastern small-footed bat is a species of vesper bat. It can be found in southern Ontario and Quebec in Canada and in mountainous portions of the eastern United States from New England to northern Georgia, and westward to northern Arkansas. It is among the smallest bats in eastern North America and is known for its small feet and black face-mask. Until recently, all North American small-footed Myotis were considered to be "Myotis leibii". The western population is now considered to be a separate species, Myotis ciliolabrum. The eastern small-footed bat is rare throughout its range, although the species may be locally abundant where suitable habitat exists. Studies suggest white-nose syndrome has caused declines in their populations. However, most occurrences of this species have only been counted within the past decade or two and are not revisited regularly, making their population status difficult to assess. Additionally, most bat populations in the eastern U.S. have been monitored using surveys conducted in caves and mines in the winter, but eastern small-footed bats hibernate in places that make them unlikely to be encountered during these surveys. Perhaps as a result, the numbers of eastern small-footed bats counted in winter tend to be low and they are relatively variable compared to other species of bats. Many biologists believe the species is stable, having declined little in recent times, but that it is vulnerable due to its relatively restricted geographic range and habitat needs.
The fringed myotis is a species of vesper bat that is found in British Columbia, Mexico, and the western United States.
The Yuma myotis is a species of vesper bat native to western North America.
Myotinae is a subfamily of vesper bats. It contains three genera: Eudiscopus, Myotis, and Submyotodon. Before the description of Submyotodon and analysis of its phylogenetics, as well as a phylogenetic analysis of Eudiscopus, the only member of Myotinae was Myotis.
The little brown bat or little brown myotis is an endangered species of mouse-eared microbat found in North America. It has a small body size and glossy brown fur. It is similar in appearance to several other mouse-eared bats, including the Indiana bat, northern long-eared bat, and Arizona myotis, to which it is closely related. Despite its name, the little brown bat is not closely related to the big brown bat, which belongs to a different genus.
The Virginia big-eared bat is one of two endangered subspecies of the Townsend's big-eared bat. It is found in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. In 1979, the US Fish and Wildlife Service categorized this as an endangered species. There are about 20,000 left and most of them can be found in West Virginia. The Virginia big-eared bat is the state bat of Virginia.
The Alcathoe bat is a European bat in the genus Myotis. Known only from Greece and Hungary when it was first described in 2001, its known distribution has since expanded as far as Portugal, England, Sweden, and Russia. It is similar to the whiskered bat and other species and is difficult to distinguish from them. However, its brown fur is distinctive and it is clearly different in characters of its karyotype and DNA sequences. It is most closely related to Myotis hyrcanicus from Iran, but otherwise has no close relatives.
Daubenton's bat or Daubenton's myotis is a Eurasian bat with rather short ears. It ranges from Ireland to Japan (Hokkaido) and is considered to be increasing its numbers in many areas.
There are eighteen indigenous species of bats in Canada, which are found in many parts of the country. They are insectivores, and are prey to falcons, hawks, owls, snakes, cats, and raccoons.
Yagodinska Cave is a cave in the Rhodope Mountains, southern Bulgaria. It is included in the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria and is named after the homonymous village nearby. With a total length of 10,500 m, Yagodinska is the fourth longest cave in the country after Kolkina Dupka, Duhlata and Orlova Chuka and the longest in the Rhodopes. Yagodinska Cave is home to 11 species of bats.
A maternity colony refers to a temporary association of reproductive female bats for giving birth to, nursing, and weaning their pups. The colonies are initiated by pregnant bats. After giving birth, the colony consists of the lactating females and their offspring. After weaning, juveniles will leave the maternity colony, and the colony itself will break apart. The size of a maternity colony is highly variable by species, with some species forming colonies consisting of ten or fewer individuals, while the largest maternity colony in the world in Bracken Cave is estimated to have over 15 million bats.
