Arkansas mammals

Western Little Brown Myotis in Arkansas

Myotis lucifugus

Native to Arkansas S1 Critically Imperiled in Arkansas

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

IUCN Red List status

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

EN – Endangered

Very high risk of extinction in the wild.

Little brown myotis roosting alertly on a wooden beamLittle brown myotis roosting in the corner of an attic beamLittle brown myotis roosting on painted wood sidingLittle brown myotis resting among blue spruce branches
Photo: Steph Brulot-Sawchyn · CC0Little brown myotis roosting alertly on a wooden beamPhoto: LeeAnn Latremouille · CC BY 4.0Little brown myotis roosting in the corner of an attic beamPhoto: Tom Romeo · CC BY 4.0Little brown myotis roosting on painted wood sidingPhoto: Patrick Jackson · CC BY 4.0Little brown myotis resting among blue spruce branches

Western Little Brown Myotis in Arkansas, by the numbers

Rare in Arkansas 66th most recorded of 78 mammals logged in Arkansas

2 occurrence records
2 with iNaturalist photos
Oct 12, 2025 Last seen in Arkansas

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Western Little Brown Myotis in Arkansas

Most sightings fall in October.

2 Arkansas occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Arkansas records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March0
April0
May0
June0
July0
August0
September0
October2
November0
December0

Monthly western little brown myotis occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Arkansas, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Sparse observation record in Arkansas; presence confirmed but timing of activity not well documented.

Occurrence map

Where Western Little Brown Myotis has been recorded in Arkansas

2 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

2 Arkansas records mapped

Where it's recorded in Arkansas

CountyRecords
Independence County 1
Washington County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 2 Arkansas counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

The little brown bat was once the bat Americans knew best, which makes its Arkansas standing striking: NatureServe ranks it S1, critically imperiled in the state, and the IUCN now lists the species as Endangered worldwide. White-nose syndrome has driven that collapse, hollowing out the cave-hibernating colonies the species depends on.

Arkansas has just 2 records of this bat, both from October, one from Independence County and one from Washington County in the north. The forested Ozark country around the Ozark National Forest, Buffalo National River, and Devil’s Den State Park still holds the caves and wooded water the bat needs, but two records can’t show where or when it’s most often found.

Read the record as effort, not abundance: a county with a dedicated bat survey produces records, and one without produces silence. For a species in decline, those quiet counties are the worrying part.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Little brown myotis roosting alertly on a wooden beam
Full species profile Western Little Brown Myotis Myotis lucifugus Size 8–9.5 cm3.1–3.7 in Weight 6–13 g0.2–0.5 oz Lifespan 35 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Arkansas in the atlas

Data & sources

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

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries