[Species] | Greater mouse-eared bat
The greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) is a Eurasian member of the Vespertilionidae. It’s most widespread throughout Europe, and can be found in all of its countries with the exception of Denmark, Latvia, Finland, and the Scandinavian peninsula. It may also occur in the UK.
With an impressive length of up to 9 centimetres, a wingspan of up to 45 centimetres and a maximum average weight of around 45 grams, the greater mouse-eared bat is amongst the largest in Europe. It has a long, broad muzzle, big, long ears, and overall reddish-brown to beige white fur.
Foraging is mostly done in open deciduous woodlands, forest edges and pastures. Throughout the year roosting is done below ground (except in Northern Europe, where they may prefer attics and lofts of buildings), with some notable exceptions of tree-based colonies. A colony can have as many as 4500 members, and may consist of more than one species.
Like many of its relatives, the greater mouse-eared bat is an insectivore, having a diet that largely consists of various arthropods. Unlike many of its relatives though, it doesn’t use echolocation to capture prey, instead gleaning it from the ground, locating them passively by listening to noises. Echolocation instead finds a use in spatial orientation.
Breeding occurs during autumn, with females giving birth somewhere from May to June, each having 1 to 2 pups, each of which are carried around for about 45 days, during the period of which females form nursery colonies, entirely excluding males.
Although present throughout Europe and classified as a species of least concern by the IUCN, the greater-mouse eared bat is thought to be slowly declining throughout all of its range, and already has been driven to extinction in some places, such as almost certainly the UK.
Sources: Wikipedia the Free Encyclopaedia, People’s trust for endangered species, Current Biology
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