Strelkov's long-eared bat (''Plecotus strelkovi'') 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 ...

found in mountainous regions of

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 ...

Taxonomy

It was described in 2006 based on specimens previously classified without justification as

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 ...

(''P. wardi'') and later the

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 ...

(''P. austriacus''). However, genetic and morphological evidence confirmed that these populations represented a distinct, previously undescribed species, and it was described as ''Plecotus strelkovi''. Phylogenetic evidence supports it being a

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

to a group comprising

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 ...

(''P. christii''), the

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 ...

(''P. kolombatovici''), and the

(''P. austriacus''). It is accepted as a distinct species by the

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammals, and professions studying them. There are over 4,500 members of this society, and they are primarily professional scientists ...

, the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

, and the

ITIS The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...

. The species is named in honor of Russian mammalogist Petr Petrovich Strelkov.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to the

xeric Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

mountain ranges of

and adjoining regions. It ranges from northeastern

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 ...

through the mountains of Central Asia, and east to northwestern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It is found in the

Pamir Pamir may refer to: Geographical features * Pamir Mountains, a mountain range in Central Asia ** Pamir-Alay, a mountain system in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, part of the Pamir Mountains *A pamir (valley) is a high plateau or valley surro ...

and

Tien Shan The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...

mountain ranges. It is known from montane and forest-

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

habitats.

Status

This species is considered

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

on the

and does not face any major threats.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2168994 Plecotus Bats of Asia Mammals of Central Asia Mammals described in 2006

Taxonomy

Distribution and habitat

Status

See also

References