Daubenton's myotis
Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii) is a Eurasian bat that is considered to be increasing its numbers in many areas. It was first described in 1817 by Heinrich Kuhl, who named it in honor of French naturalist Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton.
Daubenton's bat is a medium-sized to small species. Their 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 these bats are agitated, their ears are held at right angles. Their wings and tail membrane are dark brown.
Daubenton's bats are found throughout Ireland and Europe, and as far as Japan and Korea. They prefer to live in woodlands and often choose roosts close to water sources such as rivers or canals. Summer colonies are formed in caves, tunnels, cellars, mines, and underneath bridges.
These bats are highly social creatures. They are nocturnal and emerge at twilight to hunt for insects over the water. They use echolocation to find prey and orient themselves at night. They often eat their prey while still in flight. Daubenton’s bats emit sounds too high in frequency for humans to detect, and interpret the echoes created to build a "sound picture" of their surroundings. They emit 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. Daubenton's bats hibernate from September to late March or April.
Daubenton’s bats are carnivores (insectivores). Their diet consists mainly of non-biting midges and other midges, small flies, mayflies, and moths.
Daubenton’s bats breed in autumn and fertilization takes place the following spring. Females gather in maternity colonies of 40 to 80 bats during June and July. Young bats are able to fly 3 weeks after birth and reach independence when they are 6 to 8 weeks old.
There are no major threats to this species at present.
According to the IUCN Red List, Daubenton’s bat is widespread throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.