Mammals
> Brown long-eared bat
Plecotus auritus
It's a medium-sized bat with very long and delicate ears, which are characteristic of its genus. Its long and soft hair is brown, although light brown and yellowish in the abdomen. It is very similar to the grey long-eared bat.
Behaviour and reproduction:
Most bats of this species reach sexual maturity in the second year of life. Mating occurs mostly at the end of autumn. The gestation lasts between 60 to 70 days and the offspring are breastfed during 40 to 50 days.
Feeding:
It hunts insects during flight or captures them on the surface of the vegetation, while hovering in the air.
It is an almost exclusively arboreal species, finding shelter in tree holes or fissures. During hibernation it uses abandoned mines and caves, where it can be usually found near the entrances. It hunts in several types of forests, but apparently it prefers old-growth forests. It can specifically use forest edges or the lines of waterside vegetation.
This species is more common in Central Europe than in the Mediterranean, where it usually shows a fragmented distribution restricted to mountain areas. There are few confirmed locations in Portugal, possibly due to its quite fragmented distribution. Its abundance apparently decreases from north to south, with very few records in Alentejo and Algarve.
The main threat to its conservation is the destruction of old-growth forests with leafy species. It is also highly vulnerable to collisions with vehicles due to its slow and low flight. It has the conservation status of ‘insufficient information’ in the Portuguese Red List.
