378.

Long-eared Myotis

Myotis evotis

French: Murin a oreilles longues / German: Langohriges Mausohr / Spanish: Ratonero de orejas largas

Other common names: Western Long-eared Bat, Western Long-eared Myotis

Taxonomy. Vespertilio evotis H. Allen, 1864,

type locality not given. Restricted by G. S. Miller, Jr. in 1897 to “Monterey, Caljifornia].,” USA.

Subgenus Pyzonix; lucifugus species group. Myotis evotis is most closely related to M. thysanodes, M. keenii, M. occultus, and the paraphyletic M. lucifugus (specifically M. lL carissimus and M. l. pernox, which likely represent distinct species), although relationships among these species and the clade including M. sodalis, M. volans, M. lucifugus, M. L. relictus, and M. I. alascensis are not well resolved. Six subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

M.e.evotisH.Allen,1864—coastalSWUSA(CW&SWCalifornia).

M. e. chrysonotus J. A. Allen, 1896 — SW Canada (SE British Columbia, S Alberta, and S Saskatchewan) and W USA (most of Montana, W & NE North Dakota, NW South Dakota, SE Oregon, S Idaho, Wyoming, inland California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and extreme N New Mexico).

M. e. jonesorum Manning, 1993 — SW USA (N & E Arizona and W New Mexico).

M. e. micronyx Nelson & Goldman, 1909 — NW Mexico (N Baja California).

M. e. milleri Elliot, 1903 — NW Mexico (S Baja California).

M. e. pacificus Dalquest, 1943 — SW Canada (SW British Columbia and Vancouver I), and NW USA (Washington, most of Oregon, N Idaho, NW Montana, and NW California).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 43-52 mm, tail 36-45 mm, hindfoot 810 mm, ear 18— 24 mm, forearm 37-40 mm; weight 4-9 g. Fur of the Long-eared Myotis is long and fluffy. Dorsum is yellowish to dark brown, darkest in Pacific Northwest; venteris paler. Bare face, ears, and membranes are black. Ears are very long and extend well beyond nose when laid forward. Calcar is unkeeled orslightly keeled. Skull has gradually rising forehead region; sagittal crest is usually present but inconspicuous; skull is relatively narrow overall; and braincase is ovoid when viewed from above, bulging posteriorly beyond lambdoidalcrests. Upper premolars are not crowded and in line in tooth row; molarsare relatively large; and M? has marked angle between parastyle and mesostyle. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 44 and FN = 52.

Habitat. Humid coastal areas to montane forests, including mixed coniferous forests, dry forests, subalpine forests, semiarid shrublands, sage, chaparral, and agricultural areas from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 2830 m (Wyoming).

Food and Feeding. [.ong-cared Myotis primarily hunt by aerial hawking but occasionally glean prey off of surfaces. They eat variousinsects but primarily Lepidoptera and Coleoptera . In Arizona, diet included Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Neuroptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, and Homoptera. Odonata has also been recorded in diets in Montana . When sympatric with the South-western Myotis (M. auriculus), the Longeared Myotis primarily eats Coleoptera rather than Lepidoptera . Long-eared Myotis bats also appear to exhibit sexual differences in food selection, with males eating significantly more moths than females.

Breeding. Pregnant Long-eared Myotis have been collected from mid-May to mid-July throughout the distribution, and volant young have been reported from late July in New Mexico. This suggests that births occur around June to mid-July. Females give birth to one young. Oldest recorded individual was a 22-year-old male.

Activity patterns. L.ong-eared Myotis use various types of day roosts (e.g. abandoned buildings, tree hollows, under loose bark, among timber, caves and mines, crevices, and sinkholes). They leave roosts to forage relatively late in the evening and often continue foraging later into the night, often later than midnight. In Arizona, theyleaf roosts ¢.30 minutes after sunset and foraging for a little more than two hours, and in Oregon in August, they emerged 10-40 minutes after full darkness. They hibernate through winter. Calls are steep FM sweeps, with start frequencies of 59-9-100-2 kHz (mean 71-2 kHz), end frequencies of 31-5-48-6 kHz (37-1 kHz), peak frequencies of 45-58-4 kHz (50-8 kHz), and durations of 0-3-2-7 milliseconds (1-1 milliseconds) in Alberta.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Long-eared Myotis roost in small groups or alone, with males and some non-reproducing females living alone or in small groups in summer and reproductive females forming small maternity colonies of up to 30 individuals. They might migrate short distances from summer to winter roosts and hibernacula. They have been recorded sharing roosts with Townsend’s Big-eared Bats ( Corynorhinus townsendii) in Idaho.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Longeared Myotis appears to be widespread and common throughoutits distribution and does not appear to face any major threats. Habitat loss and roost disturbance might be major risks in the future; they can be considered pests because of their preference to roost in attics.

Bibliography. Arroyo-Cabrales & Alvarez-Castafieda (20179), Chruszcz & Barclay (2002b, 2003), Dalquest (1943), Faure & Barclay (1994), Faure et al. (1990), Findley (1972), Gannon & Réacz (2006), Jones, C. (1965), Jones, J.K. & Choate (1978), Jones, J.K., Lampe et al. (1973), Kellner & Harestad (2005), Larrison & Johnson 1981), Manning (1993), Manning & Jones (1989), Miller (1897), Morales & Carstens (2018), Morales et al. 2017), Nixon et al. (2009), Rancourt et al. (2005), Rust (1946), Snider et al. (2013), Solick & Barclay (2006), Vonhof & Barclay (1996, 1997), Waldien et al. (2000), Whitaker & Wilson (1974), Whitaker et al. (1977), Whitlow Hall (1933), van Zyll de Jong & Nagorsen (1994).