Its exiting news for bat fans today as a new species of bat has been discovered resident in the UK. The Alcathoe’s bat (Myotis alcathoe) has been discovered at two sites some 350km apart. The first site is in Rydale in Yorkshire and the second in the south downs of Sussex. The distance between the sites suggests that the bats have been resident for some time.
The Species has gone unnoticed as it is very similar to two species of bat which are already resident, the Whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus) and the Brandts’ bat (Myotis brandtii). All three species are very similar in appearance even when in the hand but habits, prey and echolocation are different with the alcathoe’s bat echolocation terminating at a frequency higher than that of its relatives.
For more details and the full story please click on the links below.
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/786/bat_species_discovered_for_the_first_time_in_uk
http://www.bats.org.uk/news.php/75/new_bat_species_found_in_the_uk
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8632121.stm