Brown long-eared bat
Encyclopedia
The brown long-eared bat or common long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus) is a fairly large Europe
an bat
. It has distinctive ear
s, long and with a distinctive fold. It is extremely similar to the much rarer grey long-eared bat
which was only validated as a distinct species
in the 1960s.
An adult brown long-eared bat has a body length of 4.5-4.8 cm, a tail of 4.1-4.6 cm, and a wing length of 4-4.2 cm. The ears are 3.3-3.9 cm in length, and readily distinguish this from most other bat species.
They are relatively slow flyers compared to other bat species.
website and can be seen here.
This species appears to prefer cave
s as roosting sites, but roosts in trees holes, buildings and bat boxes as well. The roosts in trees may be close to the ground.
It hunts above woodland
, often by day, and mostly for moth
s, gleaning insects from leaves and bark. This is one of the bats for which eyesight is more important than echolocation
in finding prey (Stevens 2005).
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
. It has distinctive ear
Ear
The ear is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system....
s, long and with a distinctive fold. It is extremely similar to the much rarer grey long-eared bat
Grey long-eared bat
The grey long-eared bat is a fairly large European bat. It has distinctive ears, long and with a distinctive fold. It hunts above woodland, often by day, and mostly for moths. It is extremely similar to the more common brown long-eared bat, and was only distinguished in the 1960s, but has a...
which was only validated as a distinct species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in the 1960s.
An adult brown long-eared bat has a body length of 4.5-4.8 cm, a tail of 4.1-4.6 cm, and a wing length of 4-4.2 cm. The ears are 3.3-3.9 cm in length, and readily distinguish this from most other bat species.
They are relatively slow flyers compared to other bat species.
Habitat
It is found in Europe. The UK distribution can be found on the National Biodiversity NetworkNational Biodiversity Network
The National Biodiversity Network is a collaborative venture in the United Kingdom committed to making biodiversity information available through various media, including on the internet via the NBN Gateway, the data search web site of the NBN....
website and can be seen here.
This species appears to prefer cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
s as roosting sites, but roosts in trees holes, buildings and bat boxes as well. The roosts in trees may be close to the ground.
It hunts above woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
, often by day, and mostly for moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s, gleaning insects from leaves and bark. This is one of the bats for which eyesight is more important than echolocation
Animal echolocation
Echolocation, also called biosonar, is the biological sonar used by several kinds of animals.Echolocating animals emit calls out to the environment and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from various objects near them. They use these echoes to locate and identify the objects...
in finding prey (Stevens 2005).
Echolocation
Echolocation is used to find prey. The frequencies used by this bat species for echolocation lie between 27-56 kHz, have most energy at 45 kHz and have an average duration of 2.5 ms.External links
- ARKive Photographs