The parti-coloured bat or rearmouse (''Vespertilio murinus'') 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 ...

that lives in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

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 ...

, from Western and Southern Europe, eastwards over the Caucasus and Iran into Mongolia, north-east China, Korea, Afghanistan and northern Pakistan.

Description

Their twittering call, similar to a bird's call, can be heard particularly in the autumn during the mating season. The parti-coloured bat has a body size of with a wingspan of , and a weight of . Its name is derived from its fur, which has two colours. Its back (dorsal side) is red to dark-brown, with silver-white-frosted hair. The ventral side is white or grey. The ears, wings and face are black or dark brown. The wings are narrow. The ears are short, broad and roundish. It is known to live up to 12 years.

Behaviour

These bats hunt for their

prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

, for example

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es, caddis flies and

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s, with a wide range of ultrasonic sounds, but especially around 25–27 kHz. They hunt after twilight at heights of around , for example in open landscape over streams and lakes and above forests or at street lights. In cold weather, the bat may remain in its resting place. There is not much known about the behaviour of parti-coloured bats, as they are quite rare. Female bats live in small groups, of about 50 animals, sometimes up to several hundred adult females. In Western Europe, male groups consist of about 250 animals and are found only during the spring and early summer. These bats migrate, and flights of up to were found. The furthest migration was determined at . Between October and March, the bats

hibernate Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It most ...

. They hibernate alone, and can bear temperatures down to .

Reproduction and birth

Females form maternity roosts during May and July and generally give birth to twins. After the pups are weaned, which takes less than six weeks, females leave the maternity roost. Birth of the young is in western Europe around beginning of June.

Distribution

The parti-coloured bat occurs in Central and Western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. Its natural habitat is mountains,

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, ...

s and forested areas, but in Western Europe, they can mainly be found in cities. The species is protected, as it is threatened by

insecticide Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to b ...

s and changes in their habitat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q232644 Vespertilio Bats of Asia Bats of Europe Mammals of Russia Mammals of Central Asia Mammals of Turkey Mammals of Azerbaijan Bat, Parti-coloured Mammals of Afghanistan Mammals of Pakistan Mammals described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus