Unlike M. nattereri, which lives in small groups in tree holes, M. escalerai forms large colonies in caves.

Myotis escaleraii was named by Angel Cabrera in 1904, on the basis of four specimens from two localities in eastern Spain.

He argued that one of the features Cabrera had listed as distinguishing the two was an artefact of the preservation of the specimens of M. escalerai in alcohol.

C"), occurring in the Italian peninsula and most closely related to M. crypticus,[16] but another study published in the same year included these populations in M.

[8] The latter study, by I. Salicini and colleagues, used sequences from six nuclear genes to confirm the distinctiveness of M. escalerai and its close relationship with M. zenatius.

The fur is long and soft; with a brown tone on the back, and the brighter underparts approaching white.

Much of the face is pink, and the muzzle is pointed, with long hairs on the upper lip resembling a moustache.

[18] According to several authors, it differs from M. nattereri in showing a distinct fringe of hairs on the tail membrane,[5][19][8] but bat specialist A.M. Hutson writes that this feature does not distinguish the two species.

Females begin to form reproductive colonies in April and May, either small ones or larger aggregations that may also contain males.

[19] The formation of large reproductive colonies in caves, which may consist of several hundreds of individuals, distinguishes M. escalerai from M. nattereri as well as M. sp.

M. escalerai is considered a sedentary species, and does not usually migrate over long distances, although it does move between reproduction and hibernation colonies.

[1] M. nattereri and M. escalerai are also listed separately on the Annex to the Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats.

[32] In Catalonia, the species appears tolerant of different habitats and of human disturbance, but it is listed as "data deficient".