Belongs within: Vespertilionini.
Contains: Histiotus.
Eptesicus, the serotines or house bats, is a genus of fairly generalised bats found in Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas. As indicated by the vernacular name, members of this genus commonly roost in man-made structures such as houses or barns; they also roost in hollow trees or rock crevices. The genus includes the big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus of North and Central America.
Characters (from Miller 1907): Dental formula I2/3, C1/1, P1/2, M3/3. Teeth strictly normal throughout and showing no special peculiarities. Both upper incisors well developed, inner larger than outer and usually with distinct secondary cusp, outer separated from canine by space equal to its greatest diameter. Lower incisors subequal, trifid, closely crowded and distinctly imbricated, forming strongly convex row between canines; crown of third wider than that of either first or second. Canines simple with distinct cingulum but no secondary cusps. Premolars with no special peculiarities. Molars normal; m1 and m2 with hypocone always indicated and in some species well developed, distinct concavity between hypocone and protocone; m3 variable in form, usually with well developed metacone and three commissures in smaller species, but with metacone and third commissure obsolete in larger species; lower molars with all cusps present and of normal form. Skull with rostrum flattish or more usually rounded off above, nares and palatal emargination not specially enlarged, the latter at least as deep as wide.
Eptesicus Rafinesque 1820 (see below for synonymy)C57
|--E. nasutusFS15
`--+--+--+--E. malagasyensisFS15
| | `--E. matrokaFS15
| `--+--E. hottentotusFS15
| `--+--E. serotinus Schreber 1778FS15, K92 (see below for synonymy)
| `--+--E. bottaeFS15
| `--+--E. bobrinskoiFS15
| `--+--E. nilssoniiFS15 (see below for synonymy)
| `--+--E. gobiensisFS15
| `--E. japonensisFS15
`--+--HistiotusFS15
`--+--E. floweriFS15
`--+--E. fuscus (Beauvois 1796)C57, K92 [=Vespertilio fuscusC57; incl. *E. melanopsC57]
| |--E. f. fuscusC57
| |--E. f. miradorensis (Allen 1866) (see below for synonymy)C57
| `--E. f. pallidusG56
`--+--+--E. pachyotisFS15
| `--+--E. andinus Allen 1914FS15, C57 [=E. brasiliensis andinusC57]
| `--E. chiriquinus Thomas 1920FS15, C57
`--+--+--E. brasiliensis (Desmarest 1819)FS15, K92 (see below for synonymy)
| | |--E. b. brasiliensis (see below for synonymy)C57
| | `--E. b. argentinus Thomas 1920C57
| `--E. furinalis (D’Orbigny 1847)FS15, C57 (see below for synonymy)
`--+--+--E. diminutus Osgood 1915FS15, C57
| `--E. innoxius (Gervais 1841)FS15, C57 (see below for synonymy)
`--+--E. platyopsFS15
`--+--E. tateiFS15
`--+--E. dimissusFS15
`--E. guadeloupensisFS15
Eptesicus incertae sedis:
E. baverstockiIT07
E. brunneusIT07
E. capensisM07
E. circumdatusMB86
E. douglasorumIT07
E. fidelis Thomas 1920C57
E. finlaysoniB90
E. flavescensIT07
E. gaumeriG69
E. grandisMHL03
E. guineensisIT07
E. kobayashiiIT07
E. loveniBP87
E. lynniMB86
E. matschieiM07
E. megalurusM07
E. melckorumIT07
E. minutusM07
E. montosus Thomas 1920 [incl. E. inca Thomas 1920]C57
E. pachyomus [=*Pachyomus pachyomus]M07
E. pumilusWH02
E. regulusIT07
E. rendalliM07
E. sagittulaIT07
‘*Nyctiptenus’ smithiiM07
E. somalicusIT07
E. tenuipinnis (Peters 1872)K92 [=Vesperus tenuipinnisM89]
E. vulturnusIT07
E. walliBP87Eptesicus Rafinesque 1820 [incl. Adelonycteris Allen 1892, Amblyotus Kolenati 1858, Aristippe Kolenati 1863, Cateorus Kolenati 1856, Cnephaeus Kaup 1820, Meteorus Kolenati 1858, Neoromicia Roberts 1926, Noctula Bonaparte 1841, Nyctiptenus Fitzinger 1870, Patchyomus Gray 1866, Pareptesicus Bianchi 1917, Rhyneptesicus Bianchi 1917, Tuitatus (n. n.), Vesperus Keyserling & Blasius 1839 (preoc.)]C57
Eptesicus brasiliensis (Desmarest 1819)FS15, K92 [=Vespertilio brasiliensisC57; incl. E. chapmani Allen 1915C57, Vesperus melanopterus Jentink 1904C57, E. melanopterusK92]
Eptesicus brasiliensis brasiliensis (Desmarest 1819) [incl. Vespertilio arctoideus Wagner 1855, Vesperugo arge Cope 1889, Vespertilio derasus Burmeister 1854, Vespertilio ferrugineus Temminck 1839, Vespertilio hilarii Geoffroy 1824, Eptesicus hilarei, E. hilarii, Vesperugo hilarii, Vespertilio nitens Wagner 1855]C57
Eptesicus furinalis (D’Orbigny 1847)FS15, C57 [=Vespertilio furinalisC57; incl. Vesperugo (Vesperus) dorianus Dobson 1885C57, E. dorianusM07]
Eptesicus fuscus miradorensis (Allen 1866) [=Scotophilus miradorensis, Vespertilio fuscus miradorensis; incl. Eptesicus fuscus pelliceus Thomas 1920]C57
Eptesicus innoxius (Gervais 1841)FS15, C57 [=Vespertilio innoxiusC57; incl. V. espadae Cabrera 1901C57, Eptesicus espadaeC57, E. punicus Thomas 1920C57]
Eptesicus nilssoniiFS15 [=Aristippe nilssoniM07, Meteorus nilssoniM07; incl. *Amblyotus atratusM07, Eptesicus borealisM07]
Eptesicus serotinus Schreber 1778FS15, K92 [=*Cateorus serotinusM07, *Cnephaeus serotinusM07; incl. Vespertilio alcythoeM07]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[B90] Baynes, A. 1990. The mammals of Shark Bay area, Western Australia. In: Berry, P. F., S. D. Bradshaw & B. R. Wilson (eds) Research in Shark Bay: Report of the France-Australe Bicentenary Expedition Committee pp. 313–325. Western Australian Museum.
[BP87] Burton, J. A., & B. Pearson. 1987. Collins Guide to the Rare Mammals of the World. Collins: London.
[C57] Cabrera, A. 1957. Catalogo de los mamiferos de America del Sur. I (Metatheria—Unguiculata—Carnivora). Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” e Instituto Nacional de Investigacion de Las Ciencias Naturales, Ciencias Zoológicas 4 (1): 1–307.
[FS15] Faurby, S., & J.-C. Svenning. 2015. A species-level phylogeny of all extant and late Quaternary extinct mammals using a novel heuristic-hierarchical Bayesian approach. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 14–26.
[G69] Goodwin, G. G. 1969. Mammals from the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, in the American Museum of Natural History. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 141 (1): 1–269, 40 pls.
[G56] Gould, D. J. 1956. The larval trombiculid mites of California (Acarina: Trombiculidae). University of California Publications in Entomology 11 (1): 1–116.
[IT07] Isaac, N. J. B., S. T. Turvey, B. Collen, C. Waterman & J. E. M. Baillie. 2007. Mammals on the EDGE: conservation priorities based on threat and phylogeny. PloS One 2 (3): e296.
[K92] Klompen, J. S. H. 1992. Phylogenetic relationships in the mite family Sarcoptidae (Acari: Astigmata). Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 180: i–vi, 1–154.
[MB86] McBee, K., J. W. Bickham, S. Yenbutra, J. Nabhitabhata & D. A. Schlitter. 1986. Standard karyology of nine species of vespertilionid bats (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Thailand. Annals of Carnegie Museum 55 (5): 95–116.
[MHL03] Meng, J., Y. Hu & C. Li. 2003. The osteology of Rhombomylus (Mammalia, Glires): Implications for phylogeny and evolution of Glires. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 275: 1–247.
[M07] Miller, G. S., Jr. 1907. The families and genera of bats. Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin 57: i–xvii, 1–282, pls 1–14.
[M89] Modigliani, E. 1889. Appunti intorno ai mammiferi dell’isola Nias. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Serie 2a 7: 238–245.
[WH02] Worthy, T. H., & R. N. Holdaway. 2002. The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric life of New Zealand. Indiana University Press: Bloomington (Indiana).