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

Common in New York 31st most recorded of 102 mammals logged in New York

812 occurrence records
50 with iNaturalist photos
May 19, 2026 Last seen in New York

Records from 2000–2026.

812 total records count every New York occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 801 records with a full observation date.

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

Most sightings fall in July to August.

801 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
January17
February14
March93
April34
May23
June68
July207
August207
September92
October19
November20
December7

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 July–August.

Occurrence map

Where Western Little Brown Myotis has been recorded in New York

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 New York records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Wellesley Island 27
John Boyd Thacher State Park 22
Bear Swamp State Forest 6
Harriman State Park 3
Letchworth State Park 2
Brasher Falls State Forest 2
Beaverkill Campground 2
Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River 2

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
Schoharie County 154
Essex County 99
Jefferson County 98
Albany County 76
Ulster County 63
Lewis County 46
Suffolk County 33
Orange County 27
Tompkins County 25
St. Lawrence County 24
Hamilton County 22
Otsego County 21
26 other counties 124

The complete county distribution, spread across 38 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: 803 of the state’s 812 documented sightings come from GBIF, essentially all specimen and hibernaculum survey data, 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. Adirondack Park’s 10 logged sightings anchor the deep forest and cave habitat this bat depends on.

July and August are tied for the year’s peak at 207 records each, together more than half the entire year’s total, tracking the maternity-colony season when survey teams count the surviving bats at known roost sites, the exact narrow window when a species this reduced is still detectable in any numbers at all.

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"