Beijing mouse-eared bat
The Beijing mouse-eared bat, or Peking myotis ("Myotis pequinius") is a species of vesper bat. It is found only in China. Taxonomy. It was described as a new species in 1908 by British zoologist Oldfield Thomas. The holotype had been collected by Malcolm Playfair Anderson in 1907. Anderson encountered the species in a cave west of Beijing. Description. It is a relatively large mouse-eared bat with a forearm length of . Its fur is short and velvety, with the fur on its back a gray, reddish-brown. In contrast, its belly fur is off-white . Biology and ecology. It is insectivorous, consuming mostly beetles. During the day, individuals roost in caves, though they may also roost in human structures. Range and habitat. The Beijing mouse-eared bat is endemic to China, where it is found in the provinces of Anhui, Beijing, Henan, Jiangsu, Shanxi, and Sichuan. Conservation. As of 2019, it is evaluated as a least-concern species by the IUCN. It meets the criteria for this classification because its extent of occurrence exceeds ; its population is presumably large; and it is unlikely to be experiencing rapid population decline.