{{Short description|Genus of bats}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Eptesicus nilssoni.jpg | image_caption = Northern bat (''Eptesicus nilssoni'') | taxon = Eptesicus | authority = Rafinesque, 1820 | type_species = ''Eptesicus melanops'' | type_species_authority = Rafinesque, 1820 }}
'''''Eptesicus''''' is a genus of bats, commonly called '''house bats''' or '''serotine bats''', in the family Vespertilionidae.<ref name="Simmons">{{MSW3|id=13801800}}</ref> The genus name is likely derived from the Greek words ''ptetikos'' 'able to fly' or ''petomai'' 'house flier', although this is not certain.<ref name="missouri_mammals">{{cite book |last1=Schwartz |first1=Charles Walsh |last2=Schwartz |first2=Elizabeth Reeder |title=The Wild Mammals of Missouri |date=2001 |publisher=University of Missouri Press |location=Columbia, MO |isbn=9780826213594|page=84}}</ref>
== Species == ===Traditional=== The following species have traditionally been placed in ''Eptesicus''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Acosta Salvatierra |first1=Luis Hernán |last2=Poma-Urey |first2=José Luis |last3=Ossa-López |first3=Paula A |last4=Rivera-Páez |first4=Fredy A |last5=Ramírez-Chaves |first5=Héctor E |date=2021-09-19 |title=A new species of Eptesicus (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae), from the sub-Andean Forest of Santa Cruz, Bolivia |journal=Therya |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=391–409 |doi=10.12933/therya-21-1119 |issn=2007-3364|doi-access=free }}</ref> {{Div col|content=*Anatolian serotine (''Eptesicus anatolicus'') *Little black serotine (''Eptesicus andinus'') *Bobrinski's serotine (''Eptesicus bobrinskoi'') *Botta's serotine (''Eptesicus bottae'') *Brazilian brown bat (''Eptesicus brasiliensis'') *Chiriquinan serotine (''Eptesicus chiriquinus'') *Diminutive serotine (''Eptesicus diminutus'') *Horn-skinned bat (''Eptesicus floweri'') *Argentine brown bat (''Eptesicus furinalis'') *Big brown bat (''Eptesicus fuscus'') *Gobi big brown bat (''Eptesicus gobiensis'') *Guadeloupe big brown bat (''Eptesicus guadeloupensis'') *Long-tailed house bat (''Eptesicus hottentotus'') *Harmless serotine (''Eptesicus innoxius'') *Meridional serotine (''Eptesicus isabellinus'') *Japanese short-tailed bat (''Eptesicus japonensis'') *Kobayashi's bat (''Eptesicus kobayashii'') *Langer's serotine (''Eptesicus langeri'') * ''Eptesicus lobatus''<ref>Zagorodniuk I. 2009. Morphology of post-calcarial lobe in bats and its variation in ''Eptesicus “serotinus”'' (Mammalia). Visnyk Lviv University. Series Biology. 2009. Issue 51.</ref><!-- no longer recognized --> *Northern bat (''Eptesicus nilssonii'') *Ognev's serotine (''Eptesicus ognevi'') *Orinoco serotine (''Eptesicus orinocensis'') *Oriental serotine (''Eptesicus pachyomus'') *Thick-eared bat (''Eptesicus pachyotis'') *Lagos serotine (''Eptesicus platyops'') *Serotine bat (''Eptesicus serotinus'') *Taddei's serotine (''Eptesicus taddeii'') *Sombre bat (''Eptesicus tatei'') *Ulapes serotine (''Eptesicus ulapesensis'')}}
===2023 proposed revision=== A 2023 study noted divisions within ''Eptesicus'' when considering physical characteristics, genetics, echolocation characteristics, and divergence timing, with the authors concluding that ''Eptesicus'' should be split into three genera. They described a new genus, ''Neoeptesicus'', and elevated the subgenus ''Cnephaeus'' to genus rank.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1590/S1984-4689.v40.e22029 |title=Taxonomic re-evaluation of New World Eptesicus and Histiotus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae), with the description of a new genus |date=2023 |last1=Cláudio |first1=Vinícius C. |last2=Novaes |first2=Roberto L.M. |last3=Gardner |first3=Alfred L. |last4=Nogueira |first4=Marcelo R. |last5=Wilson |first5=Don E. |last6=Maldonado |first6=Jesús E. |last7=Oliveira |first7=João A. |last8=Moratelli |first8=Ricardo |journal=Zoologia (Curitiba) |volume=40 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
The Old World ''Eptesicus'' species were moved to ''Cnephaeus'': * ''Cnephaeus anatolicus'' * ''Cnephaeus bottae'' * ''Cnephaeus floweri'' * ''Cnephaeus gobiensis'' * ''Cnephaeus hottentotus'' * ''Cnephaeus isabellinus'' * ''Cnephaeus japonensis'' * ''Cnephaeus kobayashii'' * ''Cnephaeus nilssonii'' * ''Cnephaeus ognevi'' * ''Cnephaeus pachyomus'' * ''Cnephaeus pachyotis'' * ''Cnephaeus platyops'' * ''Cnephaeus serotinus'' * ''Cnephaeus tatei''
The Neotropical species were placed in ''Neoptesicus'': * ''Neoeptesicus andinus'' * ''Neoeptesicus brasiliensis'' * ''Neoeptesicus chiriquinus'' * ''Neoeptesicus diminutus'' * ''Neoeptesicus furinalis'' * ''Neoeptesicus innoxius'' * ''Neoeptesicus langeri'' * ''Neoeptesicus orinocensis'' * ''Neoeptesicus taddeii'' * ''Neoeptesicus ulapesensis''
These revisions left only two species in ''Eptesicus'': * ''Eptesicus fuscus'' * ''Eptesicus guadeloupensis''
==References== {{Wikispecies}} {{Reflist}}
{{Vespertilionidae|V.|E.}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q736473}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Eptesicus Category:Bat genera Category:Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque
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