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 25th most recorded of 116 mammals logged in Florida

1,758 occurrence records
435 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 6, 2026 Last seen in Florida

1,758 total records count every Florida occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,709 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Southeastern Myotis in Florida

Most sightings fall in May to June.

1,709 Florida occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Florida records (table)
MonthRecords
January74
February122
March156
April83
May378
June227
July188
August124
September82
October98
November69
December108

Monthly southeastern myotis occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Florida.

Seasonality

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

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 196
Florida Caverns State Park 170
Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park 21
Withlacoochee State Forest 3
Herky Huffman/Bull Creek Wildlife Management Area 2
Big Lagoon State Park 1
Ocala National Forest 1
University of Central Florida Arboretum 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
Levy County 342
Jackson County 327
Alachua County 326
Putnam County 216
Citrus County 206
Sumter County 43
Orange County 39
Gilchrist County 37
Wakulla County 35
Sarasota County 21
Hamilton County 21
Hillsborough County 15
28 other counties 130

The complete county distribution, spread across 40 Florida counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Florida records only one named site for the southeastern myotis: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, with 3 reports among the state’s 1,626 total records. NatureServe ranks the species S3 (Vulnerable) in Florida, and every one of its state records comes from GBIF rather than iNaturalist, pointing to specimen or survey data rather than casual photo sightings.

Monthly reports peak sharply in May, at 315, more than double any other month, with June a distant second at 222. 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: