CreatureData

Grey long-eared bat

Plecotus austriacus (J. Fischer, 1829)

NTNear Threatenedbats

The grey long-eared bat (Plecotus austriacus) is a species in the family Vespertilionidae, order Chiroptera. Recorded adults weigh 7.3 g to 8.19 g and live up to 15 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.

Grey long-eared bat (Plecotus austriacus)
Photo: Andrei Sakhno · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the grey long-eared bat

Weight
7.3 g – 8.19 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
25.5 cm – 30 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
15 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
30 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
65.1 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
1.28src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
11.6 months – 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Active
At night (nocturnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Scansorialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the grey long-eared bat?

GREY LONG-EARED BAT · WINGSPAN 30 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 30 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the grey long-eared bat is about 18% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the grey long-eared bat live?

Not recorded

What is the grey long-eared bat?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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. It is extremely similar to the more common brown long-eared bat, and was only distinguished in the 1960s, but has a paler belly.

From the Wikipedia article “Grey long-eared bat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grey_long-eared_bat&oldid=1374338424), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the grey long-eared bat endangered?

The grey long-eared bat is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species. What the categories mean.

How is the grey long-eared bat classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderChiroptera
  5. familyVespertilionidae
  6. genusPlecotus
  7. SpeciesPlecotus austriacus (J. Fischer, 1829)

Synonyms Plecotes auritus hispanicus, Plecotus austriacus austriacus, Plecotus brevipes, Plecotus kirschbaumii, Plecotus meridionalis, Vespertilio auritus austriacus, Vespertilio austriacus

Other names and names in other languages (40)
  • Gray big-eared batEnglish
  • Gray big-eared batEnglish
  • Gray long-eared batEnglish
  • Gray long-eared batEnglish
  • Ratpenat orellut meridionalCatalan
  • netopýr dlouhouchýCzech
  • Ystlum Hirglust LlwydWelsh
  • Ystlumod Hirglust LlwydWelsh
  • Grå langøret flagermusDanish
  • Graues LangohrGerman
  • Σταχτιά ωτονυχτερίδαGreek
  • Orejudo GrisSpanish
  • Murciélago orejudo grisSpanish
  • Murciélago orejudo gris u orejudo meridionalSpanish
  • harmaakorvayökköFinnish
  • Oreillard grisFrench
  • Oreillard meridionalFrench
  • Morcego orelludo meridionalGalician
  • אזנןHebrew
  • אוזנןHebrew
  • Sivi dugoušanCroatian
  • szürke hosszúfülű denevérHungarian
  • Szürke hosszúfülű-denevérHungarian
  • Orecchione grigioItalian
  • Orecchione meridionaleItalian
  • グレーウサギコウモリJapanese
  • 회색긴귀박쥐Korean
  • Pilkasis ausylisLithuanian
  • GrålangøreNorwegian Bokmål
  • Grijze grootoorvleermuisDutch
  • Gacek szaryPolish
  • Morcego-orelhudo-cinzentoPortuguese
  • Liliac urecheat griRomanian
  • Серый ушанRussian
  • Ucháč sivýSlovak
  • sivi uhati netopirSlovenian
  • grålångöraSwedish
  • grå långörad fladdermusSwedish
  • Gri Uzun Kulaklı YarasaTurkish
  • Вухань сірийUkrainian

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the grey long-eared bat

Other species in the same genus Plecotus.

CompareGrey long-eared bat vs Brown long-eared batGrey long-eared bat vs Alpine long-eared batGrey long-eared bat vs Sardinian long-eared batGrey long-eared bat vs Canary long-eared bat

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the grey long-eared bat?

An adult grey long-eared bat weighs 7.3 g – 8.19 g and has a wingspan of 25.5 cm – 30 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the grey long-eared bat endangered?

The grey long-eared bat is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.

How long does the grey long-eared bat live?

The grey long-eared bat has a recorded lifespan of 15 years.

How long is the grey long-eared bat pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 65.1 days.

What kind of animal is the grey long-eared bat?

The grey long-eared bat (Plecotus austriacus) belongs to the family Vespertilionidae in the order Chiroptera.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Grey long-eared bat (Plecotus austriacus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-long-eared-bat

MLA

“Grey long-eared bat (Plecotus austriacus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-long-eared-bat.

BibTeX
@misc{grey_long_eared_bat_2026,
  title = {Grey long-eared bat (Plecotus austriacus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-long-eared-bat},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}