Florida mammals

Southeastern Myotis in Florida

Myotis austroriparius

Native to Florida S3 Vulnerable in Florida

Not listed as nonindigenous in Florida by USGS NAS; native to its Florida range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Southeastern Myotis (Myotis austroriparius)Hibernating southeastern myotis (14220247660)Southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius) from a colony of Rafinesque's big-eared batsSoutheastern Myotis
Photo: Ashwin Srinivasan · CC BY 4.0Southeastern Myotis (Myotis austroriparius)Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters · Public domainHibernating southeastern myotis (14220247660)Photo: Cody Jordan · CC BY-SA 4.0Southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius) from a colony of Rafinesque's big-eared batsPhoto: Larisa Bishop-Boros · CC BY-SA 4.0Southeastern Myotis

Southeastern Myotis in Florida, by the numbers

Common in Florida 26th most recorded of 116 mammals logged in Florida

496 occurrence records
448 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 6, 2026 Last seen in Florida

Records from 2000–2026.

496 total records count every Florida occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 479 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Southeastern Myotis in Florida

Most sightings fall in May.

479 Florida occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Florida records (table)
MonthRecords
January19
February28
March64
April15
May179
June17
July21
August14
September23
October25
November23
December51

Monthly southeastern myotis occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Florida, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Florida, with recorded sightings peaking in May.

Occurrence map

Where Southeastern Myotis has been recorded in Florida

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Florida records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Ordway-Swisher Biological Station 189
Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park 20
Withlacoochee State Forest 3
Ocala National Forest 2
Half Moon Wildlife Management Area 1
Big Lagoon State Park 1
Camp Blanding Military Reservation 1
Rainbow Springs State Park 1

Protected places with the most southeastern myotis sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Florida

CountyRecords
Putnam County 209
Alachua County 104
Gilchrist County 37
Orange County 25
Seminole County 9
Polk County 9
Hillsborough County 7
Lake County 6
Marion County 6
Volusia County 6
St. Johns County 6
Jackson County 6
23 other counties 66

The complete county distribution, spread across 35 Florida counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Ordway-Swisher Biological Station dominates Florida’s southeastern myotis records, holding 189 of the state’s 496, with Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park a distant second at 20. NatureServe ranks the species S3 (Vulnerable) in Florida, and most of its state records, 448, come from iNaturalist, with 342 also carried in GBIF.

Monthly reports peak sharply in May, at 179, nearly triple any other month, with March a distant second at 64. That spring spike likely reflects when researchers survey roosts and maternity colonies, not when the bats are most active overall.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Southeastern Myotis (Myotis austroriparius)
Full species profile Southeastern Myotis Myotis austroriparius Size 7.7–8.9 cm3–3.5 in Weight 6–7 g0.2 oz Lifespan Up to 6 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Florida in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources: