List of myotines

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Myotinae is a subfamily of bats within the Vespertilionidae family, known as mouse-eared bats. There are 121 living species in three genera: Myotis (119 species), Eudiscopus (1 species), and Submyotodon (1 species).

They live on every continent except Antarctica, mostly in forests and caves, but some species also inhabit shrublands, grasslands, rocky areas, or deserts.

These bats vary in size from about 3 cm in body length with a similar-length tail for the smallest species (like the Taiwan broad-muzzled bat) to about 10 cm with a 6 cm tail for the largest Myotis species. Their forearms range from about 2 to 7 cm. They are all insect eaters, preying on a variety of insects and spiders in flight.

Some species with long toes hunt insects on water and may occasionally catch small fish from still waters. The fish-eating bats also eat crustaceans and are the only bats known to hunt fish in the ocean.

Conservation wise, only a few species are clearly at high risk: two are critically endangered and seven are endangered. Many species have not been well studied, and population sizes are unknown for most.

There are also a few extinct prehistoric myotines, but scientists are still learning how many there were and how they fit into the family tree.