{{Short description|Species of bat}} {{Speciesbox | name = Grey long-eared Bat | image = Plecotus austriacus2.jpg | image_caption = | taxon = Plecotus austriacus | authority = (J.B. Fischer, 1829) | range_map = Plecotus austriacus range Map.png | range_map_caption = Range of ''P. austriacus'' | status = NT | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref=<ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn |author=Russo, D. |author2=Cistrone, L. |year=2023 |title=''Plecotus austriacus'' |volume=2023 |article-number=e.T85533333A211018209 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T85533333A211018209.en |access-date=12 January 2024}}</ref> }}
The '''grey long-eared bat''' ('''''Plecotus austriacus''''') is a fairly large European bat. It has distinctive ears, long and with a distinctive fold. It hunts above woodland, often by day, and mostly for moths. In captivity, it has also been recorded to eat small lizards.<ref name="Animal Diversity Web">{{cite news| first1= R.| last1= Boji| url= http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Plecotus_austriacus| title=Gray big-eared bat| date= 2002|access-date=13 October 2019}}</ref> It is extremely similar to the more common brown long-eared bat, and was only distinguished in the 1960s, but has a paler belly.
== Biology and ecology == Its main foraging habitats are lowland meadows and marshes.<ref name="Gill 2013"/> It locates its insect prey via echolocation. The frequencies used by this bat species for echolocation lie between 18 and 45 kHz, have most energy at 28 kHz and have an average duration of 5.8 ms.<ref name="Obrist 2004">{{cite journal|doi=10.1515/mamm.2004.030|title=Variability in echolocation call design of 26 Swiss bat species: Consequences, limits and options for automated field identification with a synergetic pattern recognition approach|journal=Mammalia|volume=68|issue=4|year=2004|last1=Obrist|first1=Martin K|last2=Boesch|first2=Ruedi|last3=Flückiger|first3=Peter F|pages=307–322 |url=https://www.dora.lib4ri.ch/wsl/islandora/object/wsl%3A9612}}</ref>
== Distribution == Distributed throughout all of Europe, except for the Scandinavian Peninsula.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Plecotus austriacus|url=https://batslife.eu/item/plecotus-austriacus/|access-date=2021-04-30|website=BatsLife|language=en-US}}</ref> Although they are a near threatened species, they are more commonly found in Southern Europe. (To be more specific, woodlands and grasslands, as well as a few urban areas.)<ref>{{cite web | title=Grey long-eared bat - UK Bats | url=https://www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/what-are-bats/uk-bats/grey-long-eared-bat }}</ref>
== Conservation == It is currently listed as near-threatened by the IUCN. It has a large geographic range and it is considered relatively common. In most of the countries where it is found, it is protected from intentional harm by legislation. While Continental European distributions are not threatened, a 2013 study found this species was close to extinction in the United Kingdom.
One possible reason for its decline in the UK is the loss of foraging habitat.<ref name="Gill 2013">{{cite news| first1=Victoria| last1= Gill| url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23519010| work= BBC News| location=London| title=Rare bat on brink of UK extinction| date= 5 August 2013|access-date=23 February 2013}}</ref> It is currently a focus within the Back from the Brink conservation project which aims to increase foraging habitat around known roost sites.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Grey Long-eared Bat|url=https://naturebftb.co.uk/the-projects/grey-long-eared-bat/|access-date=2021-04-30|website=Back From The Brink|language=en-GB}}</ref> This species may also be threatened by climate change in Southern Europe.
One researcher noted, "long-lived, slow-reproducing species with smaller population sizes are not likely to be able to adapt to future climate change fast enough through the spread of new mutations arising in the population." In the future, it may be necessary for humans to relocate bats to suitable areas as climate changes.<ref name="Walter 2017">{{cite web| url=https://www.rdmag.com/article/2017/08/rare-bat-danger-due-climate-change| title=Rare Bat in Danger Due to Climate Change| website=R&D| publisher=Advantage Business Media| last1=Walter| first1=Kenny| date=3 August 2017| access-date=23 February 2018| archive-date=23 February 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223171302/https://www.rdmag.com/article/2017/08/rare-bat-danger-due-climate-change}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Vespertilionidae|V.|Pl.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q220958}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Bats of Europe Category:Fauna of Madeira Category:Mammals of Turkey Category:Plecotus Category:Mammals described in 1829 Category:Mammals of Cape Verde Category:Taxa named by Johann Baptist Fischer