View source for Natterer's bat

{{Short description|Species of bat}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Natterer's bat
| image = Myotis nattereri (2862347369).jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn |author=Russo, D. |author2=Cistrone, L. |year=2023 |title=''Myotis nattereri'' |volume=2023 |page=e.T215492021A211005466 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T215492021A211005466.en |access-date=12 January 2024}}</ref>
| genus = Myotis
| species = nattereri
| authority = ([[Heinrich Kuhl|Kuhl]], 1817)
| range_map =
}}
'''Natterer's bat''' ('''''Myotis nattereri''''') is a [[Europe]]an [[Vespertilionidae|vespertilionid]] [[bat]]<ref name = MSW3>{{MSW3 Chiroptera | id = 13802504 | page = 513}}</ref> with pale [[wing]]s. It has brown fur tending to greyish-white on its underside. It is found across most of the continent of Europe, parts of the Near East and North Africa. It feeds on insects and other invertebrates which it catches on the wing or pursues on the ground.

In summer it roosts in [[deciduous]] and [[coniferous]] trees, buildings or bat boxes close to its feeding habitats. In winter it [[Hibernation|hibernates]] in caves, tunnels, mines or cellars, usually hiding in crevices. This bat was first described in 1817 by [[Heinrich Kuhl]], who named it in honour of the Austrian naturalist [[Johann Natterer]].<ref>[http://www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk/news/cms/natterers-bat/ "Natterer’s Bat"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109002102/http://www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk/news/cms/natterers-bat/ |date=2015-01-09 }}, Natural History Society of Northumbria, retrieved 2014.04.14.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=I-kSmWLc6vYC&pg=PA289 "Natterer"], ''The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals'', By Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson, 2009, Johns Hopkins University Press</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=46Rx1U5x70QC&pg=PA176 "Natterer's Bat"], ''What's Who?: A Dictionary of Things Named After People and the People They Are Named After'', By Roger Jones, 2008, Matador, {{ISBN|1848760477}}.</ref>

==Description==
Natterer's bat is a medium-sized species and grows to a head and body length of {{convert|1.75|to|2|in}} with a forearm (elbow to wrist) length of {{convert|1.75|in}}. It weighs between {{convert|5|and|9.5|g}}. The short, dense fur on the [[Dorsum (anatomy)|dorsal]] (upper) surface of head and body is greyish-brown while the ventral (under) surface is whitish-grey. <ref>[http://batslife.eu/item/myotis-nattereri/ Myotis nattereri - Science for Nature Foundation]</ref> The ears and the wing membranes are smoky grey. This bat can be distinguished from other similar species by the fact that the free edge of the [[interfemoral membrane]] between the hind limbs is wrinkled and fringed with stiff, curved hairs and the [[calcar]], a spur of [[cartilage]] that supports the membrane, is shaped like a "S".<ref name=Collins>{{cite book |title=Mammals |last=Konig |first=Claus |year=1973 |publisher=Collins & Co. |isbn=978-0-00-212080-7 |pages=46–47 }}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
{{Update|reason=the Iberian population concerns ''[[Myotis escalerai|M. escalerai]]'', split from ''M. nattereri'' in 2006, and new splits have arisen ever since with the description of ''[[Myotis crypticus|M. crypticus]]'' and ''[[Myotis zenatius|M. zenatius]]'' (2019)|date=February 2019}}
The Natterer's bat species complex has a western [[Palaearctic]] distribution and is native to most of Europe, parts of the Middle East and parts of northern Africa. Its range extends from southern Sweden, Finland and western Russia in the north to Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal to the west. It extends eastwards to Ukraine, western and southwestern [[Asia Minor]], the [[Levant]], the [[Caucasus]] region, the [[Kopet Dag|Kopet Dag Mountains]] in Turkmenistan, Iran and northern Kazakhstan. Its southern limit is Morocco and Algeria, southwards as far as the [[Atlas Mountains]]. Records from North Africa are few in number and the population there is likely to be small. Its historic range included [[Norway]], in which it is now a possibly [[Local extinction|extirpated]] species.{{cn|date=January 2023}}

It is found from [[sea level]] up to an altitude of about {{convert|2000|m}}.<ref name="iucn" /> It is found in forests, parkland, and in open countryside with scattered woodland. It roosts in holes in trees, buildings and [[Nest box#Bats|nestboxes]]. In winter it hibernates in caves, mineshafts, tunnels and cellars, hiding itself away in cracks and crevices usually near the cave entrance.<ref name=Collins/> It is largely a resident species and the summer roosts and winter hibernation sites are usually within {{convert|120|km}} of each other.<ref name="iucn" />

[[File:Myotis nattereri species group distribution.svg|thumb|center|upright=2|Distribution of the ''M. nattereri'' species group according to the IUCN,<ref name="iucn" /> Benda ''et al.'' (2006),<ref name="Benda2006">{{cite Q|Q61883614}}</ref> Puechmaille ''et al.'' (2012),<ref name="Puechmaille2012">{{cite Q|Q59645142}}</ref> Salicini ''et al.'' (2013),<ref name="Salicini2013">{{cite Q|Q61789557}}</ref> Çoraman ''et al.'' (2019).<ref name="Çoraman2019">{{cite Q|Q61808257}}</ref> [[Type locality (biology)|Type localities]] are indicated by stars for each described taxon.
{{div col|colwidth=10em}}
{{Legend|#e5ef10|''[[Myotis crypticus|M. crypticus]]''}}
{{Legend|#21b72f|''[[Myotis escalerai|M. escalerai]]''}}
{{Legend|#1a92f8|''[[Myotis zenatius|M. zenatius]]''}}
{{Legend|#d40000|'''''M. nattereri'''''}}
{{Legend|#ef00ef|''M.'' sp. C}}
{{Legend|#a300a3|''[[Myotis hoveli|M. hoveli]]''}}
{{Legend|#ff6600|''[[Myotis tschuliensis|M. tschuliensis]]''}}
{{Legend|#570acc|''[[Myotis schaubi|M. schaubi araxenus]]''}}
{{Legend|#808080|Uncertain status in [[Cyprus (island)|Cyprus]]}}
{{div col end}}]]

==Behaviour==
Natterer's bat is nocturnal and [[Insectivore|insectivorous]]. It emerges at dusk to hunt for insects and uses [[animal echolocation|echolocation]] to find prey and orient itself at night. Like many other species of bat, it emits sounds at too high a [[frequency]] for most humans to detect and then interprets the echoes created in order to build a "sound picture" of its surroundings. The frequencies used by this bat species for echolocation lie between 23 and 115&nbsp;kHz and have most energy at 53&nbsp;kHz. The individual signals have an average duration of 3.8 ms.<ref>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.</ref><ref>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.</ref> The wide [[Bandwidth (signal processing)|bandwidth]] of its [[Frequency modulation|frequency-modulated]] search signals enables it to detect prey only a few centimetres from vegetation and it does not use [[visual perception|vision]], [[olfaction]] or sounds emitted by its prey for this purpose. The bat feeds on the wing and it mostly catches insects in flight but it is also able to feed on prey items such as spiders and caterpillars dangling close to foliage on silken threads.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Siemers, B. M. |author2=Schnitzler, H. -U. |year=2000 |title=Natterer's bat (''Myotis nattereri'' Kuhl, 1818) hawks for prey close to vegetation using echolocation signals of very broad bandwidth |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=47 |issue=6 |pages=400–412 |doi=10.1007/s002650050683 |bibcode=2000BEcoS..47..400S |s2cid=32561826 }}</ref>

During a study of the bat's diet, examination of droppings showed that it can also gather prey items from the ground. The diet was found mostly to consist of large [[Diptera]] (flies) but [[Trichoptera]] (caddisfly), [[Hymenoptera]] (bees, wasps, ants and hoverflies) and [[Arachnida]] (spiders and harvestmen) were also commonly eaten. The remains of other prey items occasionally found in the droppings included [[Lepidoptera]] (moths), [[Coleoptera]] (beetles), [[Hemiptera]] (bugs), [[Dermaptera]] (earwigs) and [[Chilopoda]] (centipedes).<ref>{{cite journal |title=Analysis of the diet of Natterer's bat Myotis nattereri and the common long-eared bat Plecotus auritus in the West of Ireland|author1=Shiel, C. B. |author2=McAney, C. M. |author3=Fairley, J. S. |year=1991 |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=223 |issue=2 |pages=299–305 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991.tb04766.x }}</ref> This bat may use its [[interfemoral membrane]] to catch prey and the fringing hairs may have a sensory function.<ref name=Swift/> It has been shown that it can land on the ground to pick up and pursue invertebrates that are active at night, and continues to emit search signals in order to locate them precisely.<ref name=Swift>{{cite journal |author1=Swift, S. |author2=Racey, P. |year=2002 |title=Gleaning as a foraging strategy in Natterer's bat ''Myotis nattereri'' |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=52 |issue=5 |pages=408–416 |doi=10.1007/s00265-002-0531-x |bibcode=2002BEcoS..52..408S |s2cid=8792206 }}</ref>

Breeding takes place in the spring and many Natterer's bats may congregate in a nursery roost. After fertilisation, a female normally gives birth to a single offspring after a [[gestation]] period of fifty to sixty days, but twins sometimes occur. Weaning takes place six or seven weeks later and the juvenile becomes sexually mature the following year.<ref name=Collins/>

==Status==
The [[IUCN]] has listed the Natterer's bat in its [[Red List of Threatened Species]] as being of "[[Least Concern]]" because it has a very wide distribution and is abundant in many parts of its extent. The population trend seems to be steady and no significant threats have been identified. The IUCN does note however that in some parts of its range woodlands are under threat and land management practices are changing. Roosting sites in trees and buildings may be destroyed and in Africa, cave roosting habitats are being damaged. The bat is used in traditional medicine practices in North Africa.<ref name="iucn" />

Natterer's bats are protected under the European [[Habitats Directive]], the [[Bonn Convention]] (Eurobats) and the [[Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats|Berne Convention]].<ref name="iucn" />  In the United Kingdom their rarity means that woodlands containing the species may be considered for notification as [[Sites of Special Scientific Interest]] or [[Special Areas of Conservation]] and may attract a grant under [[Natural England]]s [[Environmental Stewardship]] scheme.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naturalengland.gov.uk/ourwork/farming/funding/es/ |title=Environmental Stewardship |publisher=Natural England |access-date=2013-10-27}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Bokeloh Bat lyssavirus]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Myotis nattereri}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080509141612/http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/mammals/Myotis_nattereri/ ARKive] Photographs, video.
* [http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-6K3CXY Woodland Management for Bats] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319132917/http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-6K3CXY |date=2013-03-19 }}

{{Myotinae nav}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q723123}}

[[Category:Mouse-eared bats]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Heinrich Kuhl]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1817]]
[[Category:Bats of Africa]]
[[Category:Bats of Asia]]
[[Category:Bats of Europe]]
[[Category:Mammals of Azerbaijan]]