However, a 2013 genetic study found that while there were very subtle morphological differences between both taxa, mtDNA and nuclear DNA analyses supported both taxa being distinct from one another, and they were thus split as distinct species.

[3] The results of this study have been followed by the American Society of Mammalogists, the IUCN Red List, and the ITIS.

It is known from northern Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, northernmost India, northeastern Iran, southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, northernmost Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

It inhabits arid and semiarid habitats including steppe and rocky mountains.

It may be threatened by habitat degradation across parts of its range, and as it roosts in ruins, tourism-related development activities may negatively impact populations.