Daubenton's bat or Daubenton's myotis (''Myotis daubentonii'') is a

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

with rather short ears. It ranges from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The lar ...

) and is considered to be increasing its numbers in many areas. This bat was first described in 1817 by

Heinrich Kuhl Heinrich Kuhl (17 September 1797 – 14 September 1821) was a German naturalist and zoologist. Kuhl was born in Hanau (Hesse, Germany). Between 1817 and 1820, he was the assistant of professor Th. van Swinderen, docent natural history at the ...

, who named it in honour of French naturalist

Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton (29 May 1716 – 1 January 1800) was a French naturalist and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers''. Biography Daubenton was born at Montbard, Côte-d' ...

Description

Daubenton's bat is a medium-sized to small species. The bat's fluffy fur is brownish-grey on the back and silvery-grey on the underside. Juveniles have darker fur than adults. The bats have reddish-pink faces and noses, but the area around the eyes is bare. When the bat is agitated, the ears are held at right angles. The wings and tail membrane are dark brown. Daubenton's bat is typically 45 to 55 mm long, with an average wingspan of 240 to 275 mm, and weighs between 7 and 15 g.

Lifespan

Daubenton's bats can live for up to 22 years.

Habitat

Daubenton's bat is found throughout Ireland and Europe, and as far as Japan and Korea. The bat is mostly found in woodlands and always chooses roosts close to water sources such as rivers or canals. Summer colonies are formed in caves, tunnels, cellars, mines, and underneath bridges. These colonies are also always near water. Daubenton's bat hibernates in the same type of locations from September to late March or April.

Hunting and diet

Daubenton's bat is insectivorous and uses echolocation to find prey and orient itself at night. Bats emit sounds too high in frequency for humans to detect, and interpret the echoes created to build a "sound picture" of their surroundings. Daubenton's bat emits echolocation calls at frequencies between 32 and 85 kHz, though typical calls peak at 45 to 50 kHz; the calls have a duration of 3.3 ms. The bats emerge at twilight to hunt for insects over the water. Their main diets consist mainly of non-biting midges and other midges, small flies, mayflies, and moths are regularly found in their diet. Daubenton's bat often eats its prey while still in flight. A seven-gram Daubenton's bat often returns weighing 11 grams after a one-hour feeding, increasing its body weight by 57%.

Breeding

Mating occurs in autumn and fertilisation takes place the following spring. Females gather in maternity colonies of 40 to 80 bats during June and July. Daubenton's bat is able to fly three weeks after birth and reaches independence at 6 to 8 weeks of age.

Conservation

All bats in Britain are protected under Schedule 5 of the

Wildlife and Countryside Act The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species (especia ...

of 1981. The bats are also protected by the

Conservation Regulations Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

of 1994.

References

External links

Population map, call sound bitesARKive (Photographs, videos)Information on BBC website
{{Taxonbar, from=Q504488 Mouse-eared bats Bats of Asia Bats of Europe Mammals described in 1817 Taxa named by Heinrich Kuhl