Felten's myotis

Myotis blythii punicus was first described by Felten in 1977 as a subspecies of Myotis blythii based on differences in the teeth. Later genetic and geometric morphometric analyses elevated it to a full species based on genetic differences and skull shape. Genetic analysis suggests that the two species diverged over 3 million years ago, in the Pliocene. ==Distribution==

It is found in Northern Africa in Algeria, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Tunisia; and the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Malta. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, temperate grassland, caves, subterranean habitats (other than caves), arable land, rural gardens, and irrigated land. The habitat range extends to the border of the Sahara desert. In Tunisia, the species has been observed as far south as Ghomrassen or the Bou-Hedma National Park. ==Behaviour and ecology==

The species - at least as far as specimens roosting in Northern Tunisia are concerned - seems able to give birth much earlier in the spring than the closely related species Myotis myotis or M. blythii in Europe or Western Asia: Individuals born that year and able to fly were observed in el Haouariya caves May 24, 2011, (i.e. these juveniles were born between 3 and 4 weeks prior). Hybrids of Felten's myotis and M. blythii punicus have sometimes been found in the wild. Felten's myotis primarily hunts beetles and other hardbodied insects. It roosts in caves during the day, and forms colonies of 300 to 500 bats. ==References==