The big-eared brown bat (''Histiotus macrotus'') 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 ...

found in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Taxonomy

It was described as a new species in 1835 by German

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Eduard Friedrich Poeppig Eduard Friedrich Poeppig (16 July 1798 – 4 September 1868) was a German botanist, zoologist and explorer. Biography Poeppig was born in Plauen, Saxony. He studied medicine and natural history at the University of Leipzig, graduating with a med ...

. Poeppig placed it in the genus ''

Nycticeius ''Nycticeius'' is a small genus of bats in the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae, and the only member of the tribe Nycticeiini. It contains three species, the evening bat (''N. humeralis''), the Cuban evening bat (''N. cubanus'') and '' Nycti ...

'', with a binomial of ''N. macrotus''. By 1875, it was published under its current name combination, ''Histiotus macrotus''.

Description

It has large ears that exceed in length. The fur on its back is dark brown, while its belly fur is whitish. The flight membranes and ears are the darkest parts of its body.

Range and habitat

It is found in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, where its range includes

, and

. One study published that the species was found in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, though the image of the specimen did not appear to show the big-eared brown bat. It has been documented at a range of elevations from above sea level.

Conservation

As of 2016, it is evaluated as a

least-concern species A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

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=Q307013 Histiotus Mammals described in 1835 Mammals of Argentina Mammals of Chile Bats of South America Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Mammals of Paraguay Taxa named by Eduard Friedrich Poeppig