The Beijing barbastelle (''Barbastella beijingensis''), also known as the Beijing wide-eared bat, is a species of

vesper bat Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat familie ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Beijing Municipality } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

.''Beijing barbastelle'' The Darwin Initiative Centre for Bat Research
Accessed 2013-04-05(Chinese

2012-10-17 The species was discovered by Chinese zoology students in 2001 in caves of

Fangshan District Fangshan District () is situated in the southwest of Beijing, away from downtown Beijing. It has an area of and a population of 814,367 (2000 Census). The district is divided into 8 subdistricts, 14 towns, and 6 townships. The district administ ...

in southwestern Beijing and was identified as a distinct species by zoologists Zhang Shuyi, Gareth Jones, Zhang Jingshuo and Han Naijian in 2007.(Chinese)

Taxonomy

Phylogenetic evidence supports it not being closely related to other eastern Asian barbastelle species, and instead being the sister species to the Arabian barbastelle (''B. leucomelas'') of northern Africa and the Levant. The clade containing both is the sister group to the

western barbastelle The western barbastelle (''Barbastella barbastellus''), also known as the barbastelle or barbastelle bat, is a European bat in the genus ''Barbastella''. This species is found from Portugal to Azerbaijan and from Sweden to Canary Islands, where ...

(''B. barbastella'').

Description

The Beijing barbastelle is a relatively large member of the genus ''

Barbastella ''Barbastella'' is a genus of vespertilionid bats. There are seven extant species in this genus and one only known from fossil remains. Species The genus consists of the following species: * ''Barbastella barbastellus'' – western barbastelle ...

'' with forearm length of 41.1-46.4 mm and body mass of 10.5-13.9 g. It has dark black dorsal fur with brown-gray tips and lighter ventral fur. The shape of its ear and the frequency of its echolocation calls are distinct from those of its closest relatives, the Asian barbastelle and

Range and habitat

The Beijing barbastelle has only been found in caves and one abandoned tunnel in

, near Yunxiaoling, in a mountainous region with riparian woodland.

Conservation

As of 2021, it is evaluated as

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3542462 Barbastella Mammals of China Mammals described in 2007 Bats of Asia

Taxonomy

Description

Range and habitat

Conservation

See also

References