The Zenati myotis (''Myotis zenatius'') is a rare species of

mouse-eared bat The mouse-eared bats or myotises are a diverse and widespread genus (''Myotis'') of bats within the family Vespertilionidae. The noun "''myotis''" itself is a New Latin construction, from the Greek "''muós'' (meaning "mouse") and "''oûs''" (me ...

that is restricted to

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

. It is very rare in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

, being restricted to just four localities ranging from the

Rif The Rif or Riff (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterrane ...

to the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...

. Aside from Morocco, it is only known from three populations in northern

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

, although it is possible that populations may exist in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. There are two genetically distinct haplogroups in the Atlas Mountains that could be further considered distinct

subpopulation In statistics, a population is a set of similar items or events which is of interest for some question or experiment. A statistical population can be a group of existing objects (e.g. the set of all stars within the Milky Way galaxy) or a hypot ...

s. It is a member of the Natterer's bat (''M. nattereri'')

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

and closely resembles the cryptic myotis (''M. crypticus''), though its closest relative is

Escalera's bat Escalera's bat (''Myotis escalerai'') is a European bat in the genus '' Myotis'', found in Spain (including the Balearic Islands), Portugal, and far southern France. Although the species was first named in 1904, it was included in Natterer's b ...

(''M. escalerai''). 300, (14 February 2019)

References

{{Vespertilionidae-stub Mouse-eared bats Bats of Africa Mammals described in 2019