Systematics and evolutionary relationship of the long-eared myotis, Myotis evotis (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

The long-eared myotis, Myotis evotis (H. Allen, 1864), is one of the least-studied members of the genus in North America. The taxonomic history of this bat is reviewed and its natural history is summarized. Morphometric analyses of the long-eared myotis from throughout its range were undertaken to document nongeographic and geographic variations and thus provide a basis for an appropriate systematic arrangement of infraspecific populations. Fifteen characters were analyzed using multivariate and univariate statistics. A large sample of these bats from Socorro County, New Mexico, was analyzed to document nongeographic variation. Multivariate tests indicated no statistical difference between males and females from this locality, but females averaged slightly larger than males. Analyses of samples from six geographic areas north of Mexico were tested and found to comprise four distinct groups. Of these four groups the distribution and Identity of two (M. e. evotis. and M. e. pacificus). from coastal areas of California and the Pacific Northwest, respectively, are redefined. Another population from the interior Rocky Mountain area is shown to be distinct and an earlier name (M. e. chrysonotus) is resurrected for it. The fourth population, from Arizona and New Mexico, is named as a new subspecies. Two disjunct taxa from Baja California (M. e. milleri and M. e. micronyx also are recognized.