Whiskered Bat

About the Whiskered Bat

The whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus) is a small European bat 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 taxonomy of the genus Myotis is "considered to be one of the most challenging topics in European bat systematics", and the species count within the genus and the M. mystacinus group has varied considerably over the years. The analysis of morphological, behavioural, and especially genetic characters have since identified further cryptic species of whiskered bats in the genus Myotis, including Myotis alcathoe (described in 2001 from Europe). Myotis aurascens and Myotis ikonnikovi are other similar species. Myotis hajastanicus was also included in M. mystacinus until recently, but it was differentiated on the base of morphological comparison.

As of 2016, three subspecies are accepted: M. m. mystacinus, found over most of its range, M. m. occidentalis, found in Iberia and Morocco, M. m. caucasicus, found in the Caucasus. It is a small bat, 3.5-4.8 cm long and with a wingspan... Wikipedia →