Wildlife in Italy: Vespertilio

Systematic classification

Class: Mammals
Order: Bats
Family: Vespertilionids

Vespertilio dasicneme - Myotis dasycneme

Head-body length: 57-67 mm
Tail length: 43-50 mm
Wingspan: 24-30 cm
Weight: 14-20 grams

From southern Sweden, NE France and Switzerland, through Central Europe to Russia to the Jenisej River, roughly between 45 ° and 60 ° N latitude; an isolated find in Manchuria (China). In Italy its presence is known so far only in Trentino-Alto Adige.
Night activity. Mostly sedentary, it winters from October to March-April, especially solitary and more rarely in groups, caves, crevices or hanging in the open, in galleries, etc.
Supplementation: insects, mostly caught near the water.
A birth in June, with a small inept raised by the mother for 5-6 weeks.
Verses: trills, ultrasound.
Flight: low, fast and with turns.

Vespertilio dasicneme - Myotis dasycneme (photo www.birdholidays.co.uk)

Vespertilio di Bechstein - Myotis bechsteinii

Head-body length: 45-55 mm
Tail length: 41-45 mm
Wingspan: 25-29 cm
Weight: 7-13.6 grams

From Europe [north to Great Britain and southern Sweden; S also present in Corsica and Sicily; it is missing in Sardinia, in the Maltese Islands (where reported in quaternary deposits) and in Crete] in the Caucasus, Turkey (missing in Cyprus) and Iran.
In Italy the species is present in most of the continental and peninsular regions, as well as in Sicily.

Vespertilio of Blyth - Myotis blythii

Head-body length: 59-71 mm
Tail length: 51-65 mm
Wingspan: 36.5-41 cm
Weight: 15-30 grams

Iberia, central and southern France (Corsica most likely excluded), Switzerland, Italy (including Sicily, Sardinia most likely excluded), Maltese Islands (?), Southernmost regions of central Europe, Balkan Peninsula (including Crete); from southern Ukraine, Turkey (with Cyprus), the Caucasus and Iran to E to northwestern India, Nepal, Mongolia (just over the 50th parallel) and China (Inner Mongolia and Shanxi ) across the northwestern Altai Mountains and the Himalayas. In Italy the species is known for the entire territory, with almost certain exclusion of Sardinia.

Vespertilio di Brandt - Myotis brandtii

Head-body length: 39-51 mm
Tail length: 32-44 mm
Wingspan: 19-15.5 cm
Weight: 4.5-9.5 grams

The range of the species extends from southern Scandinavia, England, eastern France, Switzerland and part of Italy to Sahalin, the Kuril Islands and Japan, through most of Europe and Palearctic Asia. In Italy it is rare and located in the center-south.

Vespertilio di Capaccini - Myotis capaccinii

Head-body length: 47-54 mm
Tail length: 34-42 mm
Wingspan: 23-26 cm
Weight: 8-15 grams

Mediterranean districts of Europe including the major islands, doubtful for the Maltese Archipelago (where it is reported in quaternary deposits); Maghreb Africa; Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Uzbekistan.
In Italy the species is present practically all over the territory.

Vespertilio of Daubenton - Myotis daubentonii

Head-body length: 45-55 mm
Tail length: 31-44.5 mm
Wingspan: 24-27.5 cm
Weight: 7-17 grams

From Europe (Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily included; reporting for the Maltese Islands to be controlled; not reported for the Balearics and Crete) to Sahalin, Korea, Japan and the Kuril Islands, through Asia (excluding Cyprus Island), where N goes up to about 60 ° latitude, while at S it reaches 45 ° in the SW part and 25 ° in the E part (north-eastern India and southern China).
In Italy the species is present practically all over the territory.

Vespertilio di Natterer - Myotis nattereri

Head-body length: 42-52 mm
Tail length: 38-47 mm
Wingspan: 24.5-28 cm
Weight: 5-12 grams

Europe, including major Mediterranean islands (except for Sardinia and Crete); not reported for the Maltese Archipelago; Turkey and Cyprus, Israel, Iraq, Crimea and from Transcaucasia to the southern Russian Far East (Primorye S), through Iran and Turkmenistan.
In Italy the species is present in most of the continental and peninsular regions, as well as in Sicily.

Vespertilio major - Myotis myotis

Head-body length: 67-69 mm
Tail length: 45-61 mm
Wingspan: 35-43 cm
Weight: 28-40 grams

Europe, N to southern England and almost the 55th parallel in correspondence with north-eastern Poland and Belarus; in E up to Ukraine (Odessa area), Turkey and Israel, but probably (if omari is really a subsp. or a synonym of myotis) up to Iran and Turkmenistan; Balearics, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Maltese Islands, Crete, Azores, Maghreb Africa and Libya.
In Italy the species is known for the entire territory.

Vespertilio mustacchino - Myotis mystacinus

Head-body length: 35-48 mm
Tail length: 30-43 mm
Wingspan: 19-22.5 cm
Weight: 4-8 grams

From Europe (N to Ireland, Great Britain and Scandinavia) and from Morocco (not known elsewhere in northern Africa) to northeastern China, through the Caucasus, Central Asia, Iran and the Himalayan regions ; subject to confusion with M. brandtii, it is also present in the major islands of the Mediterranean, with the exclusion of the Balearics and Cyprus; not reported for the Maltese Archipelago.
Its presence in Italy seems to be ascertained for the northern and central regions, for Sicily and Sardinia, and is very probable as regards the rest of the peninsula.

Vespertilio mustacchino - Myotis mystacinus (photo www.fledermaus-bayern.de)

Vespertilio margargato - Myotis emarginatus

Head-body length: 41-53 mm
Tail length: 38-46 mm
Wingspan: 22-24.5 cm
Weight: 7-15 grams

From Europe (north to Holland and southern Poland; Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Crete; not reported for the Balearics and the Maltese Islands) to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, through Crimea and the Caucasus; Saudi Arabia, Oman, Lebanon, Israel and Maghreb Africa.
In Italy the species is present practically all over the territory.

Colony of euryale horseshoe and glazed Vespertilio (photo Vergari and Dondini)

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