''Myotis nipalensis'' commonly known as Nepal myotis is a
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 ...
of genus ''
Myotis
The mouse-eared bats or myotises are a diverse and widespread genus (''Myotis'') of bats within the family Vespertilionidae. The noun "''myotis''" itself is a New Latin construction, from the Greek "''muós'' (meaning "mouse") and "''oûs''" (mea ...
''.
Description
They are small, with the total length less than and wing span less than .
[DE Wilson, DM Reeder, Myotis nipalensis. In Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. ] It has a small ear and long narrow
tragus.
It has dense
pelage the dorsal pelage is basally dark and dark tipped, ventral pelage is also dark but with paler tips.
[A Guide to the Mammals of China By Andrew T. Smith, Yan Xie, Robert S. Hoffmann, Darrin Lunde, John MacKinnon, Don E. Wilson, W. Chris Wozencraft]
Reproduction
They reproduce once a year giving birth to a single offspring.
Distribution
They are
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 ...
to
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
and are found from
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
to
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
.
[Wilson & Reeder's Mammal Species of the World 3rd Edition]
Habitat
They are found in both high and low altitude regions. They inhabit a variety of habitats including arid regions mountainous regions and forests.
Diet
They mainly fest on
lepidopterans.
They hunt at dusk.
Subspecies
Mammal Species of the World lists three subspecies:
*Myotis nipalensis nipalensis (Dobson, 1871)
*Myotis nipalensis przewalskii (Bobrinski, 1926)
*Myotis nipalensis transcaspicus (Ognev & Heptner, 1928)
References
Mouse-eared bats
Mammals of Nepal
Mammals described in 1871
Taxa named by George Edward Dobson
{{vespertilionidae-stub