Alpine long-eared bat

Alpine long-eared bat
File:Plecotus macrobullaris - Ph. Karol Tabarelli de Fatis.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Vespertilionidae
Genus:	Plecotus
Species:	P. macrobullaris
Binomial name
Plecotus macrobullaris Kuzjakin, 1965
Synonyms
Plecotus alpinus Plecotus microdontus

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 long-eared bat in 1965. It was later described in 2001 and 2002, from France and Austria, respectively. Despite its name, this species is not restricted to the Alps, being found in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and elsewhere. It differs from other European long-eared bats, such as the brown long-eared bat, by its white underparts.

Diet

Its diet is mainly based on moths, which are captured in open areas such as grasslands and meadows, including alpine meadows.

References

• Juste, J., Ibáñez, C., Muñoz, J., Trujillo, D., Benda, P., Karatş, A. & Ruedi, M. 2004. "Mitochondrial phylogeography of the long-eared bats (Plecotus) in the Mediterranean Palaearctic and Atlantic Islands". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31, 1114-1126.
• Spitzenberger, F., Piálek, J. & Haring, E. 2006. "Systematics of the genus Plecotus (Mammalia, Vespertilionidae) in Austria based on morphometric and molecular investigations". Folia Zoologica 50, 161-172.