O’SHEA, CRYAN & BOGAN: UNITED STATES BAT SPECIES OF CONCERN 
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(Sierra Nevada), Idaho, Nevada, Utah, central and eastern Montana, western North and South 
Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and northern New Mexico; M. evotis pacificus, found in Washing¬ 
ton, western and northern Oregon, coastal northwestern California, northern Idaho, and northwest¬ 
ern Montana; and M. evotis jonesorum, found in northern Arizona, and the Mogollon Rim of Ari¬ 
zona and New Mexico (Manning, 1993). Two other subspecies occur in Baja California. More 
definitive determination of the true taxonomic status of these two subspecies (M evotis micronyx 
and M. evotis milleri) will require more intensive study (the latter subspecies is sometimes consid¬ 
ered to be a full species, Myotis milleri; see Alvarez-Castaneda and Bogan, 1997). Taxonomic syn¬ 
onymies of past scientific names applied to this species are detailed by Manning (1993) and Man¬ 
ning and Jones (1989). Discussion of possible groupings within M. evotis and among M. evotis and 
other Myotis species based on molecular genetic relationships are provided by Zinck et al. (2004), 
Dewey (2006), Stadlemann et al. (2007), Carstens and Dewey (2010), and Vonhof et al. (2015). 
These studies suggest close evolutionary relationships of the long-eared myotis, fringed myotis 
(M thysanodes ), Keen’s myotis (M. keenii ), and one subspecies of the little brown myotis 
(M. lucifugus carissima ). Evolutionary relationships among some of these species based on mor¬ 
phology and other traits also have been hypothesized (for example, Reduker et al., 1983). 
The generic name originates with Greek words meaning “mouse” and “ear”. The specific epi¬ 
thet stems from the Greek words for “good” and “ear”. Other English co mm on names found in the 
literature include western long-eared myotis, western long-eared bat, long-eared bat, little long¬ 
eared bat, golden-backed bat, desert golden bat, and little big-eared bat. 
Habitats and Relative Abundance.— Relative abundance of long-eared myotis varies with 
region and habitat. This species appears to be rare in urban and urbanizing environments of north¬ 
ern Colorado and near Calgary, Alberta compared to surrounding, less developed areas (O’Shea et 
al., 2011b; Coleman and Barclay, 2012). 
Pacific Northwest and Northern Rocky Mountains: Oregon, Washington, and British 
Columbia: Long-eared myotis have been described as the most abundant bat across a variety of 
forest types in northeastern Oregon, and ranked as most abundant (121 bats sampled among 413 
individuals of 11 species) collected for stomach contents analysis in arid scrubland and forest habi¬ 
tats (Whitaker et al., 1981). Similarly, they were the most abundant of 11 species (389 of 1,057 
individuals) of bats captured over water in the predominantly ponderosa pine forests of the eastern 
Cascade Mountains of south-central Washington (Baker and Lacki, 2004). These bats were of 
lower abundance in surveys over streams and ponds in Douglas fir-western hemlock forests across 
the Cascade Mountains in southern Washington and the Oregon Coast Range, ranking sixth among 
12 species (seven bats among 241 individuals) in the western Cascades, and were least abundant 
among five species captured in the eastern Cascades (one captured among 49 individuals; Thomas, 
1988). Captures of night roosting bats at five bridges in western hemlock forest in the Willamette 
National Forest of Oregon included eight species and 412 individuals, but only four long-eared 
myotis (ranking fifth in relative abundance; Perimeter, 1996). They ranked seventh in relative 
abundance (eight individuals) among 12 species and 958 bats captured over water in the semi-arid 
Okanagan Valley of southern British Columbia, where habitats included open areas and ponderosa 
pine forests (Woodsworth, 1981). They also ranked seventh in relative abundance (13 captures) in 
the same region during an earlier study where 351 bats of nine species were taken in nets or traps 
over or near water (Fenton et al., 1980). 
Montana and Alberta, Canada: These bats ranked sixth in relative abundance of nine species 
(13 of 231 individuals) of bats captured over water in the Pryor Mountains of south-central Mon¬ 
tana (Worthington, 1991). Long-eared myotis were the most commonly captured bat in lodgepole 
pine forests of the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, with 221 bats captured among 417 individuals 
(Barclay, 1991). 
