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''Myotis escalerai'' is a European bat in the genus ''Myotis'', found in Spain (including the Balearic Islands), Portugal, and far southern France. Although the species was first named in 1904, it was included in Natterer's bat (''Myotis nattereri'') until molecular studies, first published in 2006, demonstrated that the two are distinct species. ''M. escalerai'' is most closely related to an unnamed species from Morocco. Unlike ''M. nattereri'', which lives in small groups in tree holes, ''M. escalerai'' forms large colonies in caves. Females start to aggregate in late spring in maternity colonies, and their young are born in summer. The species spends each winter in hibernation colonies, usually in caves or basements. ''M. escalerai'' is a medium-sized, mostly gray bat, with lighter underparts. It has a pointed muzzle, a pink face, and long ears. The wings are broad and the species is an agile flyer. Wingspan is 245 to 300 mm (9.6 to 11.8 in) and body mass is 5 to 9.5 g (0.2 to 0.3 oz). Though very similar to ''M. nattereri'', it differs from that species in some features of the tail membrane. The conservation status of ''M. escalerai'' is assessed as "Vulnerable" or "Data Deficient" in various parts of its range. ==Taxonomy== ''Myotis escalerai'' was named by Ángel Cabrera in 1904, on the basis of four specimens from two localities in eastern Spain. He named the new species after one Mr. Martínez de la Escalera, who collected two specimens of the species in Bellver, Catalonia.〔Cabrera, 1904, pp. 280–281〕 Cabrera did not designate either of the two localities (Bellver and Foyos, Valencia) as the type locality, and later authors have listed both. Currently, Foyos, which was listed first by Cabrera, is accepted as the type locality.〔Benda et al., 2006, p. 118, footnote; Ibáñez et al., 2006, p. 286〕 Cabrera commented that ''M. escalerai'' was close to Natterer's bat (''Myotis nattereri''),〔Cabrera, 1904, p. 280〕 and in 1912, Gerrit S. Miller listed ''escalerai'' as a synonym of that species. He argued that one of the features Cabrera had listed as distinguishing the two was an artefact of the preservation of the specimens of ''M. escalerai'' in alcohol.〔Miller, 1912, p. 174〕 Miller's classification was followed for almost a century,〔Simmons, 2005, p. 513〕 and indeed, Cabrera himself accepted in 1914 that ''M. escalerai'' was not a valid species.〔Salicini et al., in press, p. 8〕 }} }} However, a 2006 study by Carlos Ibáñez and colleagues found that ''M. nattereri'' in fact included several cryptic species with highly distinguished DNA sequences characteristics, even though morphological differences were small or nonexistent. One, which they recorded in the southern Iberian Peninsula, was identified as ''M. escalerai''.〔 Populations in the mountains of northern Spain represent another species ("''Myotis'' sp. A"), which is now also known from the Alps.〔García-Mudarra et al., 2009, p. 441〕 A 2009 study using data from the mitochondrial genes cytochrome ''b'' and ND1 found that ''M. escalerai'' is most closely related to an unnamed species from Morocco previously included in ''M. nattereri'' ("''Myotis'' sp. B"), and more distantly to other members of the ''Myotis nattereri'' group.〔García-Mudarra et al., 2009, fig. 2〕 ''M. escalerai'' and the Moroccan species are estimated to have diverged about 2 million years ago.〔García-Mudarra et al., 2009, p. 442〕 Later in 2009, ''M. escalerai'' was also recorded for the first time from France.〔 One 2011 study found a fifth putative species in the complex ("''Myotis'' sp. C"), occurring in the Italian peninsula and most closely related to ''M.'' sp. A,〔Galimberti, 2011, pp. 99–100〕 but another study published in the same year included these populations in ''M.'' sp. A.〔 The latter study, by I. Salicini and colleagues, used sequences from six nuclear genes to confirm the distinctiveness of ''M. escalerai'' and its close relationship with ''M.'' sp. B.〔Salicini et al., in press, p. 5〕 The common name "Escalera's bat" has been used for ''M. escalerai''.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Myotis escalerai」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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