Plecotini is a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

bats 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 ...

in the family

Vespertilionidae 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 contains several genera found throughout the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

, in

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

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 ...

, and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Several genera in this tribe are known as big-eared bats or long-eared bats. It also contains the

spotted bat The spotted bat (''Euderma maculatum'') is a species of vesper bat and the only species of the genus ''Euderma''. Description The spotted bat was first described by zoologist Joel Asaph Allen from the American Museum of Natural History in 1891. ...

and barbastelles. The oldest fossil record of this group is '' Qinetia'' from the early

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Species

Species in the tribe include: * Genus ''

Barbastella ''Barbastella'' is a genus of vespertilionid bats. There are seven extant species in this genus and one only known from fossil remains. Species The genus consists of the following species: * ''Barbastella barbastellus'' – western barbastelle ...

'' – barbastelles or barbastelle bats **

Western barbastelle The western barbastelle (''Barbastella barbastellus''), also known as the barbastelle or barbastelle bat, is a European bat in the genus ''Barbastella''. This species is found from Portugal to Azerbaijan and from Sweden to Canary Islands, where ...

, ''Barbastella barbastellus'' ** Beijing barbastelle, ''Barbastella beijingensis'' ** Caspian barbastelle, ''Barbastella caspica'' **

Eastern barbastelle The eastern barbastelle or Asian barbastelle (''Barbastella darjelingensis'') is a species of Vespertilionidae, vesper bat found throughout much of Asia, from Afghanistan to Taiwan. Taxonomy It was described by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1855, ...

or Asian barbastelle, ''Barbastella darjelingensis'' **

Arabian barbastelle The Arabian barbastelle (''Barbastella leucomelas''), also known as the levant barbastelle, is a species of vesper bat. Its habitat is temperate forests and caves. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is found in Egypt (Sinai), Israel, and Eritre ...

, ''Barbastella leucomelas'' ** Japanese barbastelle, ''Barbastella pacifica'' * Genus ''

Corynorhinus The genus ''Corynorhinus'' consists of the big-eared bats, or American long-eared bats. Only three species occur in the genus, all occurring in North America. Members of this group were previously in the genus '' Plecotus'', the long-eared bat ...

'' – American lump-nosed bats ** Rafinesque's big-eared bat, ''Corynorhinus rafinesquii'' **

Mexican big-eared bat The Mexican big-eared bat (''Corynorhinus mexicanus'') is a species of vesper bat endemic to Mexico. They are nocturnal and insectivorous. Their very large ears are located across their foreheads, and when captured, the bats are observed to curl ...

, ''Corynorhinus mexicanus'' **

Townsend's big-eared bat Townsend's big-eared bat (''Corynorhinus townsendii'') is a species of vesper bat. Description Townsend's big-eared bat is a medium-sized bat (7-12 g)

, ''Corynorhinus townsendii'' * Genus ''

Euderma The spotted bat (''Euderma maculatum'') is a species of vesper bat and the only species of the genus ''Euderma''. Description The spotted bat was first described by zoologist Joel Asaph Allen from the American Museum of Natural History in 1891. ...

'' **

Spotted bat The spotted bat (''Euderma maculatum'') is a species of vesper bat and the only species of the genus ''Euderma''. Description The spotted bat was first described by zoologist Joel Asaph Allen from the American Museum of Natural History in 1891. ...

, ''Euderma maculatum'' * Genus '' Idionycteris'' ** Allen's big-eared bat, ''Idionycteris phyllotis'' * Genus '' Otonycteris'' ** Desert long-eared bat, ''Otonycteris hemprichii'' ** Turkestani long-eared bat, ''Otonycteris leucophaea'' * Genus ''

Plecotus ''Plecotus'' is a genus of vesper bat, commonly called long-eared bats. They are found throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Many species in the genus have only been described and recognized in recent years. Species Genus ''Plecotus'' – lon ...

'' – lump-nosed bats **

Brown long-eared bat The brown long-eared bat or common long-eared bat (''Plecotus auritus'') is a small Eurasian insectivorous bat. It has distinctive ears, long and with a distinctive fold. It is extremely similar to the much rarer grey long-eared bat which was on ...

, ''Plecotus auritus'' **

Grey long-eared bat The grey long-eared bat (''Plecotus austriacus'') is a fairly large European bat. It has distinctive ears, long and with a distinctive fold. It hunts above woodland, often by day, and mostly for moths. In captivity, it has also been recorded t ...

, ''Plecotus austriacus'' **

Ethiopian long-eared bat The Ethiopian long-eared bat or Ethiopian big-eared bat (''Plecotus balensis'') is a species of long-eared bat in the family Vespertilionidae. Description The Ethiopian long-eared bat is a typical medium-size representative of the genus ''Plecot ...

, ''Plecotus balensis'' **

Christie's long-eared bat Christie's long-eared bat (''Plecotus christii''), also known as the Egyptian long-eared bat, Christie's big-eared bat, or gray long-eared bat, is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is known from North Africa and the Middle ...

, ''Plecotus christii'' **

Gaisler's long-eared bat Gaisler's long-eared bat (''Plecotus gaisleri'') is a species of bat in the genus ''Plecotus''. It is a medium-sized grayish-brown and found in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia. Taxonomy ''Plecotus gaisleri'' was described as a new subspeci ...

, ''Plecotus gaisleri'' ** Himalayan long-eared bat, ''Plecotus homochrous'' **

Mediterranean long-eared bat The Mediterranean long-eared bat (''Plecotus kolombatovici''), also known as Kolombatovic's long-eared bat, is a species of vesper bat ranging from Italy east through the Balkans east to Syria, and south to Jordan. Taxonomy The species was desc ...

, ''Plecotus kolombatovici'' **

Kozlov's long-eared bat Kozlov's long-eared bat (''Plecotus kozlovi'') is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is found in southern Mongolia and adjacent parts of China. Taxonomy It was described by Nikolay Alekseyevich Bobrinski in 1926, but w ...

, ''Plecotus kozlovi'' **

Alpine long-eared bat The Alpine long-eared bat or mountain long-eared bat (''Plecotus macrobullaris'') is a species of long-eared bat. It was originally described from Switzerland and Austria as a species intermediate between the brown long-eared bat and the grey l ...

, ''Plecotus macrobullaris'' **

Ognev's long-eared bat Ognev's long-eared bat (''Plecotus ognevi'') is a species of bat found in Asia. By 2006, it was recognized as a separate species from the ''P. auritus'' species complex. Range and habitat Ognev's long-eared bat was recorded in the following co ...

''Plecotus ognevi'' **

Japanese long-eared bat The Japanese long-eared bat (''Plecotus sacrimontis'') is a species of vesper bat endemic to Japan, where it is found in Hokkaido, Honshu and Shikoku. It has distinctive, long ears, hence its Japanese name, the 'rabbit bat'. Formerly included a ...

, ''Plecotus sacrimontis'' **

Sardinian long-eared bat The Sardinian long-eared bat (''Plecotus sardus'') is a species of bat endemic to Sardinia, Italy. This species was discovered in 2002 in the caves of central Sardinia, the type locality being a cave in Lanaitto's Valley in the Oliena Distric ...

, ''Plecotus sardus'' **

Strelkov's long-eared bat Strelkov's long-eared bat (''Plecotus strelkovi'') is a species of vesper bat found in mountainous regions of Central Asia. Taxonomy It was described in 2006 based on specimens previously classified without justification as Ward's long-eared b ...

, ''Plecotus strelkovi'' **

Taiwan long-eared bat The Taiwan long-eared bat (''Plecotus taivanus''), also known as the Taiwan big-eared bat, is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is found only in Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a countr ...

, ''Plecotus taivanus'' **

Canary long-eared bat The Canary long-eared bat (''Plecotus teneriffae''), also known as the Canary big-eared bat or Tenerife long-eared bat, is a species of vesper bat endemic to the Canary Islands. According to the IUCN, it is vulnerable to the risk of extinction. T ...

, ''Plecotus teneriffae'' **

Turkmen long-eared bat The Turkmen long-eared bat (''Plecotus turkmenicus'') is a species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is found in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and possibly Mongolia. It has been assessed by the IUCN as least concern. Taxono ...

, ''Plecotus turkmenicus'' **

Ward's long-eared bat Ward's long-eared bat (''Plecotus wardi'') is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is found in mountainous regions of South Asia and adjoining regions. Taxonomy It was described in 1911 by Oldfield Thomas, but was later r ...

, ''Plecotus wardi''

Fossil species

* †'' Qinetia'' ** †'' Qinetia misonnei'' (early Oligocene of Belgium)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6080568 Mammal tribes Vesper bats Taxa named by John Edward Gray