Sir David Attenborough's Myotis

Open encyclopedia reference

Sir David Attenborough's myotis (Myotis attenboroughi) is a species of small bat in the family Vespertilionidae that is endemic to the Caribbean island of Tobago. Its presence on nearby Trinidad is as of yet uncertain. It is the only mammal species currently known to be endemic to Trinidad and Tobago. It was named after famed English naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

It was formerly assigned to Myotis nigricans until a 2017 study revealed that it was a distinct, previously unknown species. It is the sister species to a clade containing M. cf. handleyi, M. nesopolus, and 3 possibly undescribed species from South and Central America. It can be distinguished from all other Caribbean Myotis by its small skull and steeply sloping frontals.

It feeds on moths and other small flying nocturnal insects, and roosts in caves, tree hollows, and the attics of buildings.

Wikipedia contributors, Sir David Attenborough's myotis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:02:44.016132+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Myotis (Pizonyx) attenboroughi Moratelli, Wilson, Novaes, Helgen & Gutiérrez, 2017

Name authority

Moratelli, Wilson, Novaes, Helgen & Gutiérrez, 2017

Common name

Sir David Attenborough's Myotis

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Chiroptera

Family

Vespertilionidae

Genus

Myotis

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderChiroptera Blumenbach, 1779
12. suborderYangochiroptera Koopman, 1984
13. superfamilyVespertilionoidea Gray, 1821
14. familyVespertilionidae Gray, 1821
15. subfamilyMyotinae Tate, 1942
16. genusMyotis Kaup, 1829
17. subgenusPizonyx Miller, 1906
18. speciesMyotis (Pizonyx) attenboroughi Moratelli, Wilson, Novaes, Helgen & Gutiérrez, 2017

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Myotis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 407 records assigned to Vespertilionidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Moratelli, Ricardo, Don E. Wilson, Roberto L. M. Novaes, Kristofer M. Helgen, and Eliécer E. Gutiérr. (2017). Caribbean Myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae), with description of a new species from Trinidad and Tobago. Journal of Mammalogy, Vol. 98, No. 4. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:8LZKG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.