The whiskered bat (''Myotis mystacinus'') is a small

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 subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

bat 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 ...

with long

fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

. Although uncommon, ''M. mystacinus'' is often found around human habitation and around

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

; it is similar to

Brandt's bat Brandt's bat or Brandt's myotis (''Myotis brandtii'') is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is native throughout most of Europe and parts of western Asia. Taxonomy and etymology The species was described in 1845 by G ...

(''Myotis brandtii''), from which it was distinguished as a separate species only in 1970.

Overview

The analysis of morphological, behavioural, and especially genetic characters have since identified further cryptic species of whiskered bats in the genus ''Myotis'', including '' Myotis alcathoe'' (described in 2001 from Europe). '' Myotis aurascens'' and '' Myotis ikonnikovi'' are other similar species. ''Myotis hajastanicus'' was also included in ''M. mystacinus'' until recently, but it was differentiated on the base of morphologic comparison.

Echolocation

The frequencies used by ''M. mystacinus'' for echolocation are 34–102 kHz, have most energy at 53 kHz, and have an average duration of 3.0 ms.Obrist, M.K., Boesch, R. and Flückiger, P.F. (2004) 'Variability in echolocation call design of 26 Swiss bat species: Consequences, limits and options for automated field identification with a synergic pattern recognition approach.' ''Mammalia''., 68 (4): 307-32.

References

External links

ARKive
Stills, Video Mouse-eared bats Bats of Europe Mammals of Asia Mammals of Russia Mammals of Azerbaijan Mammals of Turkey Mammals described in 1817 Taxa named by Heinrich Kuhl Bats of Asia Bats of Africa {{Vespertilionidae-stub