little brown myotis

8.2

A small common North American bat that lives across the continent

noun
/ˈlɪtəl braʊn maɪˈoʊtɪs/

: murciélago marrón pequeño

The little brown myotis is one of the most widespread bats in North America.

Examples

When dusk falls, you can often spot a little brown myotis hunting for insects near water.
The little brown myotis is often found in forests.
Researchers are studying the habits of the little brown myotis to monitor population changes.
Did you see the little brown myotis flying near the cave?
The little brown myotis is often found roosting in attics and caves.
During summer nights, you can see the little brown myotis flying around in search of insects.
The little brown myotis plays an important role in controlling insect populations in North America.

Synonyms

Myotis leucifugus

vslittle brown myotis

Specialized

9.9

A small brown bat common across North America

uses the everyday common name instead of the formal species label

little brown bat

vslittle brown myotis

6.0

A small brown flying animal common in North America that sleeps in houses and forests

uses the formal species label rather than the descriptive everyday name

Surface Forms

little brown myotis singular

little brown myotis plural

Morphology

little + brown + Myotis

This is a descriptive, compositional noun phrase: 'little' (small) + 'brown' (color) + 'Myotis' (a bat genus) yields the meaning 'a small brown bat of the Myotis genus.' Such size/color + taxonomic noun constructions are transparent and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should be able to derive the meaning.

Etymology

Little brown myotis is a name that describes the bat: little and brown tell its size and colour, and myotis comes from an old language and means 'mouse-ear' because the bat has small, mouse-like ears. So the name helps you picture a small, brown bat with mouse-like ears that you often find in North America.