The peninsular myotis (''Myotis peninsularis'') is a species of

vesper bat Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat famili ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to northwestern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, found only within

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

state on the southern Baja California Peninsula. Its habitats include the southern

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Pacific Coast Range ...

and deserts.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was first encountered in August 1896 by Loye H. Miller. It was described by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. in 1898.Miller Jr, G. S. (1898). XVII.—Description of a new bat from lower California. Journal of Natural History, 2(8), 124-125. It was previously considered a subspecies of the

cave myotis The cave myotis (''Myotis velifer'') is a species of vesper bat (''Vespertilionidae'') in the genus ''Myotis''. Description It is larger than most other bats in the ''Myotis'' group, with a forearm of . The bat is brown with short ears, and can ...

, ''Myotis velifer''. Its species name '' peninsularis'' is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

in origin, meaning "of or connected with a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

Description

It is long. Its tail is long, and does not extend past the

uropatagium The patagium (: patagia) is a membranous body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift when gliding or flying. The structure is found in extant and extinct groups of flying and gliding animals including bats, theropod dinosaurs (including b ...

. Its forearm is long.

Range and habitat

It is only found in southern

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

.Simmons, N.B. 2005. Order Chiroptera. Pp. 312–529 in Wilson, D.E. and Reeder, D.M. (eds.)
Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference
3rd ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols., 2142 pp. .

Conservation

It is currently listed as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

. It meets the criteria to be listed as endangered because it is only found to in three or four locations, its extent of occurrence is less than , and its habitat is expected to decline in quality in extent in the future. Tourist activities pose a threat to this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1829588 Mouse-eared bats Bats of Mexico Endemic mammals of Mexico Endemic fauna of the Baja California Peninsula Natural history of Baja California Sur Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Mammals described in 1898 Taxa named by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. Endangered biota of Mexico Endangered fauna of North America Taxonomy articles created by Polbot