Daubenton's bat or Daubenton's myotis (''Myotis daubentonii'') is a

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). 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 birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

with rather short ears. It occurs across

, from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in the west to

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

in the east, and is believed to be increasing its numbers in many areas of its range. This bat was first described in 1817 by

Heinrich Kuhl Heinrich Kuhl (17 September 1797 – 14 September 1821) was a German people, German naturalist and zoologist. Kuhl was born in Hanau (Hesse, Germany). Between 1817 and 1820, he was the assistant of professor Th. van Swinderen, docent of natural ...

, who named it in honour of French naturalist

Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton (; 29 May 1716 – 1 January 1800) was a French natural history, naturalist and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie, Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers''. Biography Daubent ...

Description

Daubenton's bat is a medium-sized to small species. The bat's fluffy fur is brownish-grey on the back and silvery-grey on the underside. Juveniles have darker fur than adults. The bats have reddish-pink faces and noses, but the area around the eyes is bare. When the bat is agitated, the ears are held at right angles. The wings and tail membrane are dark brown. Daubenton's bat is typically 45 to 55 mm long, with an average wingspan of 240 to 275 mm, and weighs between 7 and 15 g.

Lifespan

Daubenton's bats can live for up to 22 years. In

Lieto Lieto (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, city and municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a populatio ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

a male called Nestori that lives in an old

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

has been tracked since 2008 and was approximately 21 years old in 2024.

Habitat

Daubenton's bat is found throughout Ireland and Europe, and as far as Japan and Korea. The bat is mostly found in woodlands and often chooses roosts close to water sources such as rivers or canals. Summer colonies are formed in caves, tunnels, cellars, mines, and underneath bridges. These colonies are also always near water. Daubenton's bat hibernates in the same type of locations from September to late March or April.

Hunting and diet

Daubenton's bat is insectivorous and uses echolocation to find prey and orient itself at night. Bats emit sounds too high in frequency for humans to detect, and interpret the echoes created to build a "sound picture" of their surroundings. Daubenton's bat emits echolocation calls at frequencies between 32 and 85 kHz, though typical calls peak at 45 to 50 kHz; the calls have a duration of 3.3 ms. The bats emerge at twilight to hunt for insects over the water. Their main diets consist mainly of non-biting midges and other midges, small flies, mayflies, and moths are regularly found in their diet. Daubenton's bat often eats its prey while still in flight. A seven-gram Daubenton's bat often returns weighing 11 grams after a one-hour feeding, increasing its body weight by 57%.

Breeding

Mating occurs in autumn and fertilisation takes place the following spring. Females gather in maternity colonies of 40 to 80 bats during June and July. Daubenton's bat is able to fly three weeks after birth and reaches independence at 6 to 8 weeks of age.

Conservation

All bats in Britain are protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981. The bats are also protected by the Conservation Regulations of 1994.

References

External links

Population map, call sound bitesARKive (Photographs, videos)Information on BBC website
{{Taxonbar, from=Q504488 Mouse-eared bats Bats of Asia Bats of Europe Mammals described in 1817 Taxa named by Heinrich Kuhl