The peninsular myotis (''Myotis peninsularis'') 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 ...

. It is

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 northwestern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, found only within

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

state on the southern Baja California Peninsula. Its habitats include the southern

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...

and deserts.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was first encountered in August 1896 by

Loye H. Miller Loye Holmes Miller (18 October 1874 – 6 April 1970), was an American paleontologist and zoologist who served as professor of zoology at the University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Berkeley, and University of California ...

. It was described by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. in 1898.Miller Jr, G. S. (1898). XVII.—Description of a new bat from lower California. Journal of Natural History, 2(8), 124-125. It was previously considered a subspecies of the

cave myotis The cave myotis (''Myotis velifer'') is a species of vesper bat (''Vespertilionidae'') in the genus ''Mouse-eared bat, Myotis''. Description It is larger than most other bats in the ''Myotis'' group, with a forearm of . The bat is brown with sh ...

, ''Myotis velifer''. Its species name '' peninsularis'' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

in origin, meaning "of or connected with a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

Description

It is long. Its tail is long, and does not extend past the

uropatagium 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, ...

. Its forearm is long.

Range and habitat

It is only found in southern

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

.Simmons, N.B. 2005. Order Chiroptera. Pp. 312–529 in Wilson, D.E. and Reeder, D.M. (eds.)
Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference
3rd ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols., 2142 pp. .

Conservation

It is currently listed as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

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 ...

. It meets the criteria to be listed as endangered because it is only found to in three or four locations, its extent of occurrence is less than , and its habitat is expected to decline in quality in extent in the future. Threats to this species tourist activities.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1829588 Mouse-eared bats Bats of Mexico Endemic mammals of Mexico Endemic fauna of the Baja California Peninsula Natural history of Baja California Sur Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Mammals described in 1898 Taxa named by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. Endangered biota of Mexico Endangered fauna of North America Taxonomy articles created by Polbot