The desert long-eared bat (Otonycteris hemprichii) is a species of vesper bat

Vesper bat

Vesper bats , also known as Evening bats or Common bats, are the largest and best-known family of bats. They belong to the suborder Microchiroptera . There are over three hundred species distributed all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica...

 in the Vespertilionidae family.

Distribution and Range

The single species, O. hemprichi, occurs in the desert zone

Desert

A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

 from Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 and northern Niger

Niger

Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

 through Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 and the Arabian peninsula

Arabian Peninsula

The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...

 to Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

, Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...

, and Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 to as far east as north-west India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

..

Taxonomy

The systematic position of Otonycteris is unclear, but chromosomal analysis suggests close affinity to Barbastella

Barbastella

Barbastella is a small genus of vespertilionid bats. There are three described species in this genus.-Species:Barbastella is a small genus of vespertilionid bats. There are three described species in this genus.-Species:...

and Plecotus

Plecotus

The genus Plecotus consists of the lump-nosed bats. Many species in the genus have only been described and recognized in recent years.-Species:Genus Plecotus - Lump-nosed bats*Plecotus ariel*Brown Long-eared Bat, Plecotus auritus...

Physiology

Head and body length is about 73-81 mm, tail length is about 47-70 mm, and forearm length is 57-67 mm. Several authorities gave the weight of two adult males as 18 to 20 grams. The large ears, about 40 mm in length, are directed nearly horizontally and are connected across the forehead by a low band of skin. Five female specimens revealed two pairs of pectoral mammae, a unique condition in mammals. It is not known if both pairs are functional.

Coloration

The coloration above is pale sandy to dark brown; the underparts are usually whitish.

Habitat

This bat occurs normally inhabiting extremely barren and arid regions. Its habitat are xeric, sparsely vegetated and rocky. In the Negev Desert a pair was found roosting in a rocky crevice on a hill. This bat has also been found in buildings.

Diet

Based on an analysis of its body mass, low aspect ratio, and low relative wing loading, it has been predicted that the species will be found to carnivorous in diet. Observations in Kyrgyzstan indicate that the bat forages close to the ground, uses echolocation to detect large flying or surface-dwelling invertebrates, and feeds mostly on arachnids and orthopterans that are seized directly from the ground. A study in Israel found that up to 70% of the bat's dropping contain scorpion fragments, including the highly venomous Palestine yellow scorpion as well as other less venomous species. Laboratory observations indicate that the bats detect the scorpions by the noises they make as they walk. Once caught the bats bite the heads of the scorpion and frequently get stuck in the face by the scorpion's sting. When this occurs, no signs of toxicity have been recorded, suggesting that the bats are immune to the scorpion venom.

Courtship and Breeding

Breeding colonies of 3-15 females have been found, and seven pregnant females, most with two embryos, have been collected in central Asia. Three pregnant females, each with two embryos, were found in a deserted hut in Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

.

Sources

• Chiroptera Specialist Group 1996. Otonycteris hemprichii. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 9 July 2007.
• Walker's Mammals of the World Sixth Edition pg. 453-454