418.

Brandt's Myotis

Myotis brandtii

French: Murin de Brandt / German: GroRe Bartfledermaus / Spanish: Ratonero de Brandt

Other common names: Brandt's Bat

Taxonomy. Vespertilio brandtii Eversmann, 1845,

Orenburgsk, Russia.

Subgenus Pizonyx; brandtii species group (2 species). See M. sibiricus . Monotypic.

Distribution. N & C Europe from S Fennoscandia and Great Britain to SE Europe and W Siberia, isolated populations in C Italy, Turkey, Caucasus, and C Asia. Exact distribution is uncertain because of confusion with field identification with the Common Whiskered Myotis ( M. mystacinus).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 39-51 mm, tail 32-44 mm, ear 12-17 mm, hindfoot 7-9, forearm 33-38- 2 mm; weight 5-7 g. Brandt's Myotis has remarkably long and wide-spaced ears, resembling its sister species, the Common Whiskered Myotis . It lacks postcalcariallobe to membrane. Fur is typically brownish or blackish, with golden tips. Venteris only slightly paler than dorsum. Brownish color becomes more evident with age; juveniles are almost completely black. Bare skin is darker than on other species such as Daubenton’s Myotis (M. daubentonit). Male Brandt's Myotis can be easily distinguished from other cryptic species such as the Common Whiskered Myotis by its uniformly thinner penis. Skull is slender and delicate, but large with flat frontal and parietal regions. I* has shallow groove or tiny protuberance on palatal edge of cingulum; P? and P, are comparatively robust and high, P, usually reaching two-thirds height of P,; P_ is slightly intruded from tooth row; paraconules are usually present on molars. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 44 and FNa = 52 (Germany).

Habitat. Mixed, coniferous, and broadleaf forests, usually close to aquatic habitats such as swamps, lakes, moors, or damp areas, from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 1800 m. In the southernmost part of its distribution, Brandt's Myotis is more commonly found in the mountain areas.

Food and Feeding. Although Brandt's Myotis feeds close to aquatic habitats, it feeds on terrestrial insects. Typical foraging habitats include forest edges and tree lines. It uses aerial hawking to capture insects in flight. It is very agile and maneuverable, especially in light riparian, beech, and oak forests. It also hunts above tree canopies. Its most common prey is moths, spiders, midges, mosquitoes, harvestmen, and earwigs.

Breeding. Maternity colonies of Brandt's Myotis are commonly found in buildings, attics of houses, or artificial empty cavities in roofs but also tree holes and bat boxes. Maternity colonies in natural roosts are formed by several tens of females, with some reports with up to 200 individuals. In bat boxes, they rarely exceed 20 individuals, sometimes being mixed with some pipistrelle bats. Young (normally single but sometimes twins) are usually born during in June, with dates varying latitudinally. Females became sexually active only in their second year oflife. Brandt's Myotis holds the record for bat longevity in the wild at 41 years in Siberia.

Activity patterns. In summer, Brandt’s Myotis roost in tree holes, cracks, crevices in trunks, between timbers, or behind peeling bark. It seems to prefer roosting far from human settlements. Echolocation is clearly Myotislike, with broadband, highly modulated pulses. Calls are c.4-7 milliseconds long at 20-100 kHz.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Brandt's Myotis is reported to migrate up to 300 km, or it can be locally sedentary. It usually moves from summer roosts to hibernation sites that tend to be caves, mines, or cellars with small numbers and clusters. It starts dispersing in July, earlier than in other species, and males occupy swarmingsites early in August. During summer, one colony foraged in up to 13 different areas of 1-4 ha each, totally more than 100 ha.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Brandt's Myotis is widespread, occurs at high densities, and is fairly common in most of its distribution, especially in northern areas. It is decreasing only in northern Turkey at the border ofits distribution.

Bibliography. Abe et al. (2005), Agnelli et al. (2004), Bannikov (1954), Benda &Tsytsulina (2000), Boston, Buckley et al. (2010), Boston, Hanrahan et al. (2011), Ekman & de Jong (1996), Gerell (1999), von Helversen et al. (2001), Horacek et al. (2000), Hutson, Spitzenberger, Coroiu et al. (2008), Hutterer et al. (2005), Jiang Jianjun et al. (2016), Koopman (1993), Podlutsky et al. (2005), Ruprecht (1974), Seim et al. (2013), Smith & Xie Yan (2008), Sokolov & Orlov (1980), Tinnin et al. (2002), Toffoli (2007), Tsytsulina (2001), Tupinier (2001), Vlaschenko, Hukov et al. (2016), Volleth & Heller (2012), Won Chang-Man & Smith (1999).