Whiskered bat
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| Myotis mystacinus (Kuhl, 1817) |
The whiskered bats Myotis mystacinus and related species, are small European bats with long fur. Although uncommon, M. mystacinus is often found around human habitation and around water; it is similar to Brandt's bat Myotis brandtii, from which it was distinguished as a separate species only in 1970.
The analysis of morphological, behavioural and especially of genetic characters have since identified further cryptic species of whiskered bats in the genus Myotis. To Myotis mystacinus, Myotis brandtii and Myotis ikonnikovi a new species, Myotis alcathoe, was described in 2001. M. alcathoe is the smallest among the European whiskered bats and uses the highest-frequency echolocation calls of all the European Myotis species. It prefers to hunt in small valleys with deciduous trees and flowing water. Initial records from Greece and Hungary indicate a distribution range in south-eastern Europe.
[edit] References
- Chiroptera Specialist Group (1996). Myotis mystacinus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- "Cryptic mammalian species: a new species of whiskered bat (Myotis alcathoe n. sp.) in Europe"
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