Desert long-eared bat (Otonycteris hemprichii)
The desert long-eared bat is a species of vesper bat found in North Africa and the Middle East. Head and body length is about 73–81 mm. The coloration above is pale sandy to dark brown; the underparts are usually whitish. This bat occurs normally inhabiting extremely barren and arid regions. Its habitat are xeric, sparsely vegetated and rocky. Based on an analysis of its body mass, low aspect ratio, and low relative wing loading, the species is predicted to be carnivorous. Observations in Kyrgyzstan indicate that the bat forages close to the ground, using echolocation to detect large flying or surface-dwelling invertebrates, and feeding mostly on arachnids and orthopterans that are seized directly from the ground.
photo credits: Charlotte Roemer
