Mountain long-eared bat
Plecotus macrobullaris
Mateusz Ciechanowski · Poliçan
Key facts in one look
- Diet
- Insectivore, mainly moths
- Status in Georgia
- Native, few records
- Size
- 6–10 g, forearm about 4 cm
- Habitat
- Mountains, meadows, rock crevices, old buildings
- Family
- Vespertilionidae
- Conservation
- LC / LC
The mountain long-eared bat (Plecotus macrobullaris) is a bat of the mountains: it lives mainly in steep, mountainous country up to 2,800 m and hunts moths over open slopes and meadows. It is small, 6–10 g, and like all long-eared bats it has very long ears. It is pale grey with an almost white belly and a pink triangular pad on the chin. In Georgia it has few records: it has been found in Shatili Fortress, near Mutso, at Vardzia, Aspindza, Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki, at the Tkibuli reservoir and in caves. It looks very much like the brown long-eared bat, which is brown above. If you notice bats in an old fortress or attic, do not disturb them or touch them.
Identification
Mountain long-eared bat: how to identify it
A small, pale grey bat with very long ears and an almost white belly. The face is dark brown, and a pink triangular pad hangs down from the chin. It looks most like the brown long-eared bat, which is brown above and has no white belly.
Colour is the main feature. The back is pale grey, the belly almost white and the face dark brown. The brown long-eared bat has a light brown back and a paler but not white belly. Young brown long-eared bats are greyish, so colour does not always separate them reliably.
A pink triangular pad hangs down from the chin. What sets it apart from other European long-eared bats most is its almost white belly. Males and females do not differ in size or colour.
In size it matches the brown long-eared bat: the forearm is about 4 cm and the weight 6–10 g. So size does not help to tell the two species apart. Specialists separate them reliably; do not catch a bat to do it.
Its echolocation calls are very faint and made of several harmonics. The first harmonic sweeps down from 46 to 23 kHz and lasts up to 7 milliseconds. Other long-eared bats give similar calls, so a bat detector cannot tell the species.
Colour
The back is pale grey, fading towards the belly to almost white. The face is dark brown, and a pink triangular pad shows on the chin. Males and females have the same colour.
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Often confused with
The mountain long-eared bat is a bat of the mountains. It lives mainly in steep, mountainous terrain up to 2,800 m, though in places it comes down to sea level. It hunts in open places, on grassy slopes and alpine meadows. It is flexible in its choice of roost: in the Pyrenees it roosts mainly in rock crevices, while in the Alps it prefers the attics of houses. In Georgia it has few records, mostly from mountain areas. In 2015 it was found in Khevsureti, behind the ceiling planks of Shatili Fortress and between Andaki and Mutso. In Samtskhe-Javakheti it is known from Vardzia, Aspindza, Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki, and in Imereti from the Tkibuli reservoir. It also lives in caves, for example Piraghia Cave, and counts as a partly cave-dwelling bat. Records span 1903–2018.
The mountain long-eared bat feeds mainly on moths. It catches them in open places: on grassy slopes and alpine meadows. Like other long-eared bats, it uses very faint echolocation calls to hunt.
The mountain long-eared bat rarely shares its roost with related species. Males change roosts almost every day. Females, by contrast, stay in one place for a long time and form nursery colonies of 5–25 animals. In Georgia one roost was found behind the ceiling planks of Shatili Fortress.
Globally the mountain long-eared bat is rated Least Concern (LC, 2016). In Georgia the 2021 national assessment also rates it Least Concern (LC), and its population is considered stable. At the same time it is one of the least recorded bats in the country: data from 1835–2022 hold only 14 records. Some of its known roosts are in old fortresses and monasteries, so protecting it also means keeping such places quiet.
Related guides
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Yes, but it has few records. Data from 1835–2022 hold only 14. It has been found in Khevsureti, at Shatili and near Mutso, in Samtskhe-Javakheti, at Vardzia, Aspindza, Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki, as well as at the Tkibuli reservoir and in caves. It lives mainly in mountain areas.
Mainly by colour. The mountain long-eared bat is pale grey, with an almost white belly, a dark brown face and a pink triangular pad on the chin. The brown long-eared bat is light brown above and has no white belly. They are the same size, and young brown long-eared bats are greyish, so specialists separate them reliably.
It does 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 seen 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.
Stay calm and take children and pets out of the room. Close the doors to other rooms, open an outside window or door wide and switch off unnecessary lights. Then step back and give it time: a bat usually finds the way out by itself. Do not try to catch a flying bat.
It is not threatened. Globally it is Least Concern (LC, 2016), and Georgia's 2021 national assessment also rates it LC. But in Georgia it has only 14 records and is little studied. Some of its roosts are in old fortresses and monasteries, so do not disturb bats there.
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.
