{{short description|Species of bat}} {{speciesbox | name = Botta's serotine | image = Bottas-serotine-Eptesicus-bottae-mistnetted-from-Kalat-er-Rahba.png | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref=<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Bouillard, N. |date=2021 |title=''Eptesicus bottae'' |volume=2021 |article-number=e.T85197425A22114599 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T85197425A22114599.en |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Eptesicus | species = bottae | authority = (Peters, 1869) | synonyms = {{species list | Vesperus bottae | Peters, 1869 | Vesperugo serotinus| Schreber, 1775}} }} '''Botta's serotine''' ('''''Eptesicus bottae''''') is a species of vesper bat, one of 25 in the genus ''Eptesicus''. It is found in rocky areas and temperate desert.
==Taxonomy and etymology== It was described as a new species in 1869 by German naturalist Wilhelm Peters. Peters placed it in the now-defunct bat genus ''Vesperus'' with a binomial of ''V. bottae''. The holotype was collected in southwestern Yemen.by Paul-Émile Botta in 1837.<ref name="Benda 2010">{{cite journal| last1= Benda| first1= P.| last2= Al-Jumaily| first2= M. M.| last3= Reiter| first3= A.| last4= Nasher| first4= A. K.| year= 2010| title= Noteworthy records of bats from Yemen with description of a new species from Socotra| journal= Hystrix: The Italian Journal of Mammalogy| volume= 22| issue= 1| url= http://www.nm.cz/admin/files/PM/download/zivotopisy-publikace/benda2011hys.pdf| access-date= 2018-09-26| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170808144945/http://www.nm.cz/admin/files/PM/download/zivotopisy-publikace/benda2011hys.pdf| archive-date= 2017-08-08}}</ref> Botta is the eponym for the species name "''bottae''".<ref name="Peters 1869">{{cite journal|last=Peters|first=W.| year=1869| title=Las Bemerkungen über neue oder weniger bekannte Flederthiere, besonders des Pariser Museums| trans-title=Comments on new or less well-known bats, especially from the Parisian Museum|language=German| journal= Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussische Akademie des Wissenschaften zu Berlin| page=406| url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36276619}}</ref> In 1878, George Edward Dobson wrote that he considered it synonymous with the serotine bat, ''Vesperugo'' (=''Eptesicus'') ''serotinus''.<ref name="Dobson 1878">{{cite book| url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/37695383| title=Catalogue of the Chiroptera in the collection of the British Museum| last=Dobson| first=G. E.| year=1878|publisher=Printed by Order of the Trustees| page=191}}</ref> By 1967, it was referred to as its present name combination, ''Eptesicus bottae''.<ref name="Lay 1967">{{cite journal|last=Lay|first=D. M.| year=1967| title=A study of the mammals of Iran, resulting from the Street Expedition of 1962-63|journal=Fieldiana: Zoology| volume=54|page=233|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2768526}}</ref>
From 1976 until 2006, the closely related species ''Eptesicus anatolicus'' was widely considered a part of ''E. bottae'', despite ''E. anatolicus'' being separately identified in 1971. This conception was largely overturned by Benda and colleagues in 2006.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Benda|first1=P.|last2=Andreas|first2=M.|last3=Kock|first3=D.|last4=Lučan|first4=R. K.|last5=Munclinger|first5=P.|last6= Nová|first6=P.| last7=Obuch|first7=Ján|last8=Ochman|first8=Katarzyna|last9=Reiter|first9=Antonín|last10=Uhrin|first10=Weinfurtová|year=2006|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235993996 |title=Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the Eastern Mediterranean. Part 4. Bat fauna of Syria: distribution, systematics, ecology |journal=Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae|volume= 70 |number=1 | pages=1–329}}</ref> Until 2013, Ognev's serotine (''E. ognevi'') was also considered a part of ''E. bottae'', until genetic analyses confirmed both as distinct species.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Juste|first1=Javier|last2=Benda|first2=Petr|last3=Garcia-Mudarra|first3=Juan Luis|last4=Ibáñez|first4=Carlos|date=2013|title=Phylogeny and systematics of Old World serotine bats (genus Eptesicus, Vespertilionidae, Chiroptera): an integrative approach|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/zsc.12020|journal=Zoologica Scripta|language=en|volume=42|issue=5|pages=441–457|doi=10.1111/zsc.12020|hdl=10261/80441 |s2cid=52950923 |issn=1463-6409|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
==Description== Individuals weigh {{cvt|8-9|g|oz}} and have wingspans of {{cvt|28.2|cm|in}}.<ref name="Holderied 2005"/> It has a forearm length of {{cvt|38-47|mm|in}}.<ref name="Kingdon 2013">{{cite book| last1=Kingdon| first1= J.| last2= Happold| first2= D.| last3= Butynski| first3= T.| last4= Hoffmann| first4= M.| last5= Happold| first5= M.| last6= Kalina| first6= J.| date= 2013| title= Mammals of Africa| volume=4| publisher= A&C Black| pages=552–553|isbn=978-1-4081-8996-2}}</ref> It has an average flight speed of {{cvt|5.7|m/s|mi/h}}.<ref name="Holderied 2005">{{cite journal|doi=10.1242/jeb.01528|pmid=15781892|title=Echolocation call intensity in the aerial hawking bat Eptesicus bottae (Vespertilionidae) studied using stereo videogrammetry|journal=Journal of Experimental Biology|volume=208|issue=7|pages=1321–1327|year=2005|last1=Holderied|first1=M. W.|last2=Korine|first2=C.|last3=Fenton|first3=M. B.|last4=Parsons|first4=S.|last5=Robson|first5=S.|last6=Jones|first6=G.|bibcode=2005JExpB.208.1321H |doi-access=free}}</ref>
==Range and habitat== It is found in several countries bordering the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East. It can be found in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, State of Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and possibly Lebanon. It has been documented at a range of elevations up to {{cvt|2100|m|ft}} above sea level.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" />
==Conservation== As of 2021, it is evaluated as a least-concern species by the IUCN. Within Egypt, it is considered locally common, though it is less common in other parts of its range.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Vespertilionidae|V.|E.}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q301682}}
Category:Eptesicus Category:Mammals described in 1869 Category:Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Category:Bats of Asia Category:Bats of Africa