Texas mammals

Western Small-footed Myotis in Texas

Myotis ciliolabrum

Native to Texas S3 Vulnerable in Texas

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

Western small-footed myotis roosting on wood with its dark face mask visibleSmall group of western small-footed myotis roosting under a beamWestern small-footed myotis hanging against a pale roost surfaceWestern small-footed myotis showing small feet and folded dark wingsClose view of a western small-footed myotis face and dark ears in a narrow roost
Photo: Colin Croft · CC BYWestern small-footed myotis roosting on wood with its dark face mask visiblePhoto: Colin Croft · CC BYSmall group of western small-footed myotis roosting under a beamPhoto: Colin Croft · CC BYWestern small-footed myotis hanging against a pale roost surfacePhoto: Colin Croft · CC BYWestern small-footed myotis showing small feet and folded dark wingsPhoto: Colin Croft · CC BYClose view of a western small-footed myotis face and dark ears in a narrow roost

Western Small-footed Myotis in Texas, by the numbers

Occasional in Texas 119th most recorded of 197 mammals logged in Texas

31 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Western Small-footed Myotis in Texas

Most sightings fall in January.

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

Monthly Texas records (table)
MonthRecords
January16
February0
March5
April1
May2
June1
July3
August3
September0
October0
November0
December0

Monthly western small-footed myotis occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Texas, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Texas, with recorded sightings peaking in January.

Occurrence map

Where Western Small-footed Myotis has been recorded in Texas

31 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

31 Texas records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Big Bend National Park 5
Franklin Mountains State Park 2

Protected places with the most western small-footed 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 Texas

CountyRecords
El Paso County 20
Brewster County 8
Jeff Davis County 2
Presidio County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 4 Texas counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Western small-footed myotis is one of the smallest bats in North America, and in Texas it carries a state conservation flag that its global status doesn’t: NatureServe lists it S3, Vulnerable, here even though the species is G5, Secure, across its full range. That’s a real signal that Texas’s population deserves more attention than the global picture alone would suggest.

All 31 Texas records come from GBIF, with no logged iNaturalist observations and no recent sighting date, since these are older specimen or survey records rather than fresh reports. January stands out with 16 records against near-zero counts most other months, a pattern that likely reflects winter hibernaculum surveys in caves rather than the bat’s actual seasonal activity.

Big Bend, Guadalupe Mountains, and the Davis Mountains, all cave-bearing desert ranges, are the named localities, consistent with a bat that roosts in rock crevices and caves across West Texas’s mountain country.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Western small-footed myotis roosting on wood with its dark face mask visible
Full species profile Western Small-footed Myotis Myotis ciliolabrum Size 8–10 cm3.1–3.9 in Weight 4–5 g0.1–0.2 oz Lifespan 12 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Texas 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"