The Alcathoe bat (Myotis alcathoe) is a European bat in the genus Myotis.

[2] Kno
wn only from Greece and Hungary when it was first described in 2001, its known d
istribution has since expanded to Spain, England, Sweden, and Azerbaijan, among
other countries. It is similar to the whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus) and othe
r species and is difficult to distinguish from them. However, its brown fur is d
istinctive and it is clearly different in characters of its karyotype and DNA se
quences. Although some genetic data suggest that it is related to Geoffroy's bat
(Myotis emarginatus), other analyses do not support a close relationship betwee
n M. alcathoe and any other species.
With a forearm length of 30.8 to 34.6 mm (1.21 to 1.36 in) and body mass of 3.5
to 5.5 g (0.12 to 0.19 oz), Myotis alcathoe is a small bat. The fur is usually r
eddish-brown on the upperparts and brown below, but more grayish in juveniles. T
he tragus (a projection on the inner side of the ear) is short, as is the ear it
self, and the inner side of the ear is pale at the base. The wings are brown and
the baculum (penis bone) is short and broad. M. alcathoe has a very high-pitche
d echolocation call, with a frequency that falls from 120 kHz at the beginning o
f the call to about 43 kHz at the end.
Usually found in old-growth deciduous forest near water, Myotis alcathoe forages
high in the canopy and above water and mostly eats flies. The animal roosts in
cavities high in trees. Although there are some winter records from caves, it ma
y also spend the winter in tree cavities. Several parasites have been recorded o
n M. alcathoe. The IUCN Red List assesses Myotis alcathoe as "Data Deficient", b
ut it is considered threatened in several areas because of its rarity and vulner
ability to habitat loss.
The whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus) and similar species in Eurasia (collective
ly known as "whiskered bats") are difficult to distinguish from each other; for
example, the distantly related Brandt's bat (Myotis brandtii) was not recognized
as distinct from M. mystacinus until the 1970s.[3] Small, unusual M. mystacinus
-like bats were first recorded in Greece in the 1970s, but it was not until the
advent of genetic studies that these bats could be confirmed as representing a d
istinct species, named Myotis alcathoe.[4] In 2001, the species was described by
German zoologists Otto von Helversen and Klaus-Gerhard Heller on the basis of s
pecimens from Greece and Hungary.[5] Although it also differs from other whisker
ed bats by morphological characters, Myotis alcathoe is most clearly distinct in
its genetics, including DNA sequences and the location of the nucleolus organiz
er regions.[6] Two studies used microsatellite markers on European whiskered bat
s: the first one used western European samples and recovered three well-defined
species clusters for M. alcathoe, M. brandtii and M. mystacinus[7]; the other on
e, conducted in Poland, suggesting a high level of hybridization with other whis
kered bats that would further complicate attempts to identify M. alcathoe morpho
logically.[8]
Von Helversen and Heller argued that none of the old names now considered synony
ms of M. mystacinus could apply to M. alcathoe, because these names all have the
ir type localities in western or central Europe.[6] However, the more recent dis
covery of M. alcathoe further to the west renders it possible that an older name
may be discovered.[9] In addition, Russian researcher Suren Gazaryan has sugges
ted that the name caucasicus Tsytsulina, 2000 (originally proposed for a subspec
ies of M. mystacinus from the Caucasus) may prove to be applicable to M. alcatho
e; in that case, the species would be renamed Myotis caucasicus.[10] The species
may have remained undetected in Germany for so long because bat researchers did
not sample its preferred habitats and would dismiss unusual-looking whiskered b
ats as being abnormal M. mystacinus or M. brandtii.[11]
On the basis of mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis, Myotis alcathoe first appea
red close to Geoffroy's bat (Myotis emarginatus) of southern Europe, North Afric
a, and southwestern Asia.[12] However, a study of the mitochondrial cytochrome b
gene incorporating many Myotis species did not support this relationship, and c
ould not place M. alcathoe securely at a specific position among Eurasian Myotis
.[13] Two groups with slightly divergent mitochondrial DNA sequences (separated
by 1.3 to 1.4% sequence divergence) are distinguishable within the species, whic
h probably correspond to different glacial refugia where M. alcathoe populations
survived the last glacial period. One, known as the "Hungarian" group, has been
recorded from Spain, France, Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia, and probably corre
sponds to a refugium in Iberia; the other, the "Greek" group, is known only from
Greece and Slovakia.[14]
The specific name, alcathoe, refers to Alcathoe, a figure from Greek mythology w
ho was turned into a bat when she refused the advances of the god Dionysus. She
was associated with gorges and small streams, the preferred habitat of Myotis al
cathoe in Greece.[15] In their original description, von Helversen and colleague
s described her as a nymph,[15] and the common name "nymph bat" has therefore be
en used for this species.[16] However, none of the classical sources speak of Al
cathoe as a nymph; instead, she was a princess, the daughter of King Minyas of O
rchomenos. Therefore, Petr Benda recommended in 2008 that the common name "Alcat
hoe bat" or "Alcathoe myotis" be used instead.[17] Other common names include "A
lcathoe's bat"[18] and "Alcathoe whiskered bat".[1]