''Otonycteris'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

s. Members of this genus are found in

Northern Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. Until recently, it was thought to be

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

, but in 2010, the

Turkestani long-eared bat The Turkestani long-eared bat (''Otonycteris leucophaea'') is a species of bat found in Asia. Though it was initially described in 1873 as a species, for many years it was considered synonymous with the desert long-eared bat, ''Otonycteris hempri ...

was distinguished from the

desert long-eared bat The desert long-eared bat (''Otonycteris hemprichii'') is a species of vesper bat found in North Africa and the Middle East. Taxonomy The taxonomic classification of ''Otonycteris'' is unclear, however their chromosomes suggest that this genus i ...

; previously, all populations were recognized as the desert long-eared bat. Currently, it consists of two species: *

Desert long-eared bat The desert long-eared bat (''Otonycteris hemprichii'') is a species of vesper bat found in North Africa and the Middle East. Taxonomy The taxonomic classification of ''Otonycteris'' is unclear, however their chromosomes suggest that this genus i ...

(''Otonycteris hemprichii'') **Subspecies ***''Otonycteris hemprichii hemprichii'': found in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

***''Otonycteris hemprichii cinerea'': found in the mountains of Iran and Oman ***''Otonycteris hemprichii jin'': found in low-elevation deserts of the eastern

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

and southeast

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 ...

(''Otonycteris leucophaea'')

References

Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters Bat genera {{Vespertilionidae-stub