Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this page were taken by Paul Smith and are used with permission.
COMMON BROWN BAT Eptesicus furinalis
Bats of the genus Eptesicus are insectivores that belong to the family Vespertilionidae, aptly known as the "Brown Bats". Identification to species level is extremely difficult and requires careful measurement and comparison of morphological characters. Eptesicus bats can be distinguished from the extremely similar Myotis bats by the presence of a single premolar and unequal incisors - difficult to observe in a live specimen without getting your fingers dangerously close to those biting teeth! A little easier to note is that the tail of Eptesicus juts out of the uropatagium at the extreme tip, whereas that of Myotis is completely enclosed within the uropatagium, while Eptesicus has a rounded tragus compared to the pointed tragus of Myotis.
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1 - (PMAM198PH) Adult at roost, Pozo Colorado, Departamento Presidente Hayes (Paul Smith October 2009).
FIGURE 2 - (PMAM199PH) An adult specimen from PN Teniente Enciso (Paul Smith July 2006).
FIGURE 3 - (PMAM200PH) Roost, Pozo Colorado, Departamento Presidente Hayes (Paul Smith October 2009).
FIGURE 4 - (PMAM201PH) Roost, Pozo Colorado, Departamento Presidente Hayes (Paul Smith October 2009).
FIGURE 5 - (PMAM202PH) Roost, Pozo Colorado, Departamento Presidente Hayes (Paul Smith October 2009).
FIGURE 6 - (PMAM203PH) Roost, Pozo Colorado, Departamento Presidente Hayes (Paul Smith October 2009).
FIGURE 7 - (PMAM204PH) Juvenile at roost, Pozo Colorado, Departamento Presidente Hayes (Paul Smith October 2009).
FIGURE 8 - (PMAM205PH) Adult specimen dorsal, Centro de Mastozoologia del Paraguay, Asunción (Paul Smith August 2009).
FIGURE 9 - (PMAM206PH) Same specimen ventral  (Paul Smith August 2009).
FIGURE 10 - (PMAM207PH) Same specimen head detail  (Paul Smith August 2009).
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DORSAL
LATERAL
COMMON BROWN BAT Eptesicus furinalis
DORSAL (FPMAM208PH); LATERAL (FPMAM209PH)
Skulls courtesy of Centro de Mastozoologia del Paraguay, Asunción