Brandt's myotis
Myotis brandtii
Sultangareyeva Liliya · Rep. of Bashkortostan
Key facts in one look
- Diet
- Insectivore: mosquitoes, flies, small moths
- Status in Georgia
- Native
- Size
- Body 3.8–5 cm, wingspan 21–24 cm
- Habitat
- Broadleaf and mixed forest near water
- Family
- Vespertilionidae
- Conservation
- LC / LC
Brandt's myotis (Myotis brandtii) is a small bat: its body is 3.8–5 cm long, its wingspan 21–24 cm and its weight 4.5–9.5 g. It looks so much like the whiskered bat that until the 1970s it was treated as a subspecies of it, and even today the two are told apart by their teeth. It lives in broadleaf and mixed forest, often near water. Twenty-eight records are known from Georgia, including from Bakuriani and Akhaldaba. If a bat flies into your home, do not catch it with bare hands: open a window and give it time to leave.
Identification
Brandt's myotis: how to identify it
A small, greyish-brown bat with thick, long, slightly shaggy fur. It belongs to the whiskered bat group, whose members look very much alike. By its looks, and especially in flight, the species cannot be reliably identified.
Size: the body is 3.8–5 cm, the forearm 33–39 mm, the wingspan 21–24 cm and the weight 4.5–9.5 g.
The back is greyish-brown, with reddish-brown or golden hair tips. The belly is pale, from whitish to yellowish-grey. The fur is thick, long and shaggy. Young bats up to a year old are dark grey and look very like whiskered bats.
The ear is of medium length, narrows towards the tip and has a notch on its rear edge. The flap inside the ear, the tragus, is longer than in the Alcathoe whiskered bat.
It differs from the whiskered bat in its teeth and in the shape of the male's penis: in the lower jaw the third premolar is more than half the size of the second. David's myotis also looks very similar. Specialists check this only on a bat in the hand, so do not catch the bat.
Colour
The back is greyish-brown or dark brown, with reddish-brown or golden hair tips. The hairs are dark at the base. The belly is greyish-white or yellowish-grey. Young bats are dark grey.
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Brandt's myotis is a bat of broadleaf and mixed forest and often lives near water. It occurs from sea level up to 1,800 m. In summer it roosts in tree holes, rock crevices, bat boxes and buildings. It spends the winter in caves, old mines, cellars and limestone crevices, often in the cold part of a cave near the entrance. Its range covers Europe and western Asia. Twenty-eight records are known from Georgia, including from Bakuriani and Akhaldaba. It is a partly cave-dwelling bat: it turns up in caves at times, but does not live only underground.
Brandt's myotis eats small flying insects: mosquitoes, midges and small moths. Much of its food is flies, including day-active flies that it probably picks off leaves or other surfaces. It also takes spiders. It hunts in woodland and over clearings, at canopy height or between the trunks, and low over water.
Brandt's myotis emerges at dusk. Its flight is fast and agile, and it can turn sharply in the open. It hibernates alone or in small groups, sometimes with other species. Mating takes place in autumn, including during hibernation. The female stores the sperm until spring, and only then is the egg fertilised. In summer females form nursery colonies of 20–60 bats, while males live apart. Each female has a single young in early summer, which starts to fly at about a month old. The oldest known bat in Europe was 19 years and 8 months old.
Globally Brandt's myotis is rated Least Concern (LC, 2020): it is widespread and abundant, with no sign of decline. Threats include the felling of old forest, a shortage of winter roosts and disturbance of colonies. It breeds slowly, so it is slow to make up for losses. In Georgia the 2021 national assessment rates it Least Concern (LC), with a stable population. In Europe, like all bats, it is a protected species.
Related guides
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Yes. Twenty-eight records are known from Georgia, including from Bakuriani and Akhaldaba. It turns up in caves at times, but it is mainly a forest bat. It often shares roosts with the whiskered bat, which makes telling them apart even harder.
By eye it is almost impossible. They are told apart by their teeth and the shape of the male's penis: in Brandt's myotis the third lower premolar is more than half the size of the second. Young bats look especially alike. Specialists check this, so do not catch the bat.
It will not attack you, but do not touch it with bare hands. A bat bite can be tiny and easy to miss. Rabies cannot be ruled out by appearance, although most bats people see are not rabid. After a bite or scratch, wash the spot with soap and water for at least 15 minutes and see a doctor; in an emergency, call 112.
Small insects, mostly flies: mosquitoes, midges and other flies, as well as small moths and spiders. It hunts in woodland at canopy height or between the trunks. It also flies low over water. Some of its prey it picks off leaves.
The oldest known bat in Europe was 19 years and 8 months old. It used to be credited with lifespans of up to 40 years, but those records belong to the Siberian bat, now a separate species. Most live less: about 8.5 years near Saint Petersburg, and no more than 18.5 years in the Baltic region.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
