E. Geoffroy, 1818
Long-eared bats
These are small Vespertilionid bats with the ears grossly enlarged; they are only a little shorter than the forearm and joined across the forehead (Fig. 150). The nostrils open upwards, with their orifices extended backwards by a fissure. The skull has a large braincase but the rostrum is slender and reduced; the supraorbital ridges are well developed and the tympanic bullae large (Fig. 151). The upper incisors are well developed each with a distinct secondary cusp, the outer tooth (I3) is much smaller than the inner (I2). The small upper premolar (PM2) is situated in the toothrow. The hypocones of M1 and M2 are absent; M3 is about half the crown area of M2, with its metacone and third commissure small, but distinct. There are three lower premolars with the second (pm3) smaller than the first (pm2) and third (pm4) (Fig. 152).
Dental formula: i - 2 3 c 1 pm - 2 - 4 m 1 2 3 = 36.
1 2 3 1 - 2 3 4 1 2 3
The genus includes seven species with a geographical range that extends from Europe to Japan south to India and Nepal; northern Africa and the Canary Islands; Mexico; USA and Canada (Koopman, 1993). Two species are present in the Indian subcontinent:
Species of Plecotus encountered in the Indian Subcontinent:
Plecotus auritus
Plecotus austriacus
Species identification
Jump to the Text Key of this genus Page 74: Genus Plecotus.