Valley Myotis

About this species

Habitat

Montane forest around 1,040m at the type locality

Range

Central Vietnam and Laos

The valley myotis is a small, dark whiskered bat described in 2018. It closely resembles Anna's myotis but has darker fur and a longer tail. Compared with the sympatric Nepalese whiskered myotis it is smaller in body, skull and teeth and lacks a calcar lobe; compared with the Indochinese whiskered myotis it is somewhat larger, with broader ears, shorter tragi, larger canines and a less concave forehead profile (Kruskop et al. 2018).

Its type specimen came from Thak Nam forestry, 14 km north-northeast of Mang Den in Kon Plong District, Kon Tum Province, at about 1,040 m. Additional material attributed to the species is known from Ngoc Linh in Vietnam and from Laos, giving it a central Indochinese distribution. The description relied on external, skull, dental and genetic distinctions within a difficult species complex; direct information on diet, roosts, reproduction and social behaviour was not provided (Kruskop et al. 2018).

Description: Wildlife of Vietnam guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com)