Bechstein's Bat

Bechstein's Bat
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Vespertilionidae
Genus:	Myotis
Species:	M. bechsteinii
Binomial name
Myotis bechsteinii Kuhl, 1817

Bechstein's Bat (Myotis bechsteinii) is a species of vesper bat in the Vespertilionidae family. It can be found in the following countries: Austria, Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Liechtenstein, Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Iran.^[1]

Habitat

It will both roost and forage in suitable woodland of at least 25 hectares in size and only rarely venture outside of them.

In the United Kingdom Bechstein's Bats are most commonly found in the Forest of Dean and Herefordshire, however a single male was caught and recorded near Colby in Southern Pembrokeshire. The UK distribution has been plotted on the National Biodiversity Network website and can be found here.

They frequently roost in old Woodpecker holes, oak and Ash seeming to be the most important to the species.

Protection

They are protected under the European Habitats Directive. In the UK their rarity means that Woodlands containing the species may be considered for notification as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and may attract a grant under Natural Englands Environmental Stewardship scheme.

Echolocation

An echolocating Myotis bechsteinii bat avoiding collision with a plant while searching for a moth.

The frequencies used by this bat species for echolocation lie between 35–108 kHz. Its echolocation calls have the most energy at 61 kHz and have an average duration of 3.3 ms.^[2][3]

References

1. ^ Chiroptera Specialist Group 1996. Myotis bechsteini. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Accessed on 09 July 2007.
2. ^ Parsons, S. and Jones, G. (2000) 'Acoustic identification of twelve species of echolocating bat by discriminant function analysis and artificial neural networks.' J Exp Biol., 203: 2641-2656.
3. ^ Obrist, M.K., Boesch, R. and Flückiger, P.F. (2004) 'Variability in echolocation call design of 26 Swiss bat species: Consequences, limits and options for automated field identification with a synergic pattern recognition approach.' Mammalia., 68 (4): 307-32.

4. Woodland Management For Bats Guide