New York mammals

Western Little Brown Myotis in New York

Myotis lucifugus

Native to New York S1 Critically Imperiled in New York

Not listed as nonindigenous in New York by USGS NAS; native to its New York 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 New York, by the numbers

Occasional in New York 43rd most recorded of 102 mammals logged in New York

98 occurrence records
55 with iNaturalist photos
May 19, 2026 Last seen in New York

Records from 2000–2026.

98 total records count every New York occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 94; the monthly chart covers the 94 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Western Little Brown Myotis in New York

Most sightings fall in April.

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

Monthly New York records (table)
MonthRecords
January11
February2
March8
April14
May8
June8
July13
August14
September9
October6
November1
December0

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

Seasonality

Year-round in New York, with recorded sightings peaking in April, with a smaller rise in July–September and January.

Occurrence map

Where Western Little Brown Myotis has been recorded in New York

94 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

94 New York records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Sterling Forest State Park 1
Green Lakes State Park 1
Gateway National Recreation Area 1

Protected places with the most western little brown 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 New York

CountyRecords
Ulster County 45
St. Lawrence County 11
Onondaga County 11
Essex County 7
Orange County 3
Tompkins County 3
Columbia County 2
Warren County 2
Franklin County 2
Monroe County 1
Jefferson County 1
Lewis County 1
5 other counties 9

The complete county distribution, spread across 17 New York 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’s New York record tells a stark story: 84 of the state’s 98 documented sightings sit in GBIF and 55 come through iNaturalist, two overlapping sources, and NatureServe rates the state population S1, critically imperiled, matching the IUCN’s global Endangered listing driven by white-nose syndrome’s near-total collapse of this species’ hibernating colonies, a disease that first emerged in a cave near Albany in 2006 before spreading across the continent. Ulster County leads with 45 records, far ahead of St. Lawrence and Onondaga at 11 each.

April and August tie for the busiest month at 14 records each, with July right behind at 13, so the record shows a spring rise and a summer one that spans the maternity-colony season, when survey teams count the surviving bats at known roost sites. November and December are nearly empty.

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 New York 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
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"