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.
BLACK MYOTIS Myotis nigricans
Bats of the genus Myotis 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. Myotis bats can be distinguished from the extremely similar Eptesicus bats by the presence of two premolars and equal-length 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. This is one of the more abundant Paraguayan bats, though note that despite the name it is not always black!!
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1 - (FPMAM239PH) Adult , PN Teniente Enciso, Departamento Boquerón (Paul Smith July 2006).
FIGURE 2 - (FPMAM240PH) Dorsal view of the same specimen (Paul Smith July 2006).
 | FIGURE 1 |
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 | FIGURE 2 |
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 | DORSAL |
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 | LATERAL |
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