The riparian myotis (''Myotis riparius''), is a

vespertilionid 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 ...

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 bi ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

from

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. It is a medium-sized bat compared to other

South American 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 ...

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 ...

Taxonomy

The riparian myotis was originally described as a subspecies of velvety myotis in 1960. In 1973, it was raised to the species level.

Description

The riparian myotis has long, woolly fur. The dorsal fur can vary geographically from a reddish to a blackish tinge. Individuals in the south tend to have a darker dorsal region, and individuals in the north tend to have a reddish dorsal region. The dorsal hairs are unicolor and the

plagiopatagium The patagium (plural: patagia) is a membranous body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift when gliding or flight. The structure is found in extant and extinct groups of flying and gliding animals including bats, birds, some dromaeosaurs, ...

is broadly attached to the foot at the base of the toes. The ears are short compared to the eyes and nostrils. The tragus is pointed and curves slightly outward. The ventral hairs are bicolored, with a dark-brown base and yellowish tips.

Range and habitat

''M. riparius'' is distributed widely throughout the neotropical region, and occurs from

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

southward into

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 ...

, northern

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 ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. It can be found in

rainforests Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

savannas A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

, and open habitats throughout this region. It is most commonly seen from sea level to 2,000 meters above sea level. It has been seen in grasslands as well as agricultural fields. The riparian myotis tends to prefer primary forests and preserved habitats. They have been observed roosting under tree bark and caves. They have been observed co-roosting with

black myotis The black myotis (''Myotis nigricans'') is a vesper bat species from South and Central America. Its body is dark brown/black. The head to body length, not including the tail, is about 5 cm (2 in.). The black myotis is a tiny bat with a smal ...

Silver-tipped myotis The silver-tipped myotis (''Myotis albescens'') is a species of mouse-eared bat found in a range of lowland habitats in the Americas. It is part of the vesper bat genus ''Myotis'', which includes many common species across the world. Genetic ana ...

, and

Velvety free-tailed bat The velvety free-tailed bat or Pallas's mastiff bat (''Molossus molossus''), is a bat species in the family Molossidae. Description ''M. molossus'' is a medium-sized bat, with a length of and with a wingspan of . This species is brown in color ...

. They can form colonies of up to 50 individuals.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1877141 Mouse-eared bats Mammals of Colombia Mammals described in 1960 Bats of Central America Bats of South America