Southeastern myotis
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| Southeastern Bat | ||||||||||||||
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| Myotis austroriparius (Rhoads, 1897) |
The southeastern bat (Myotis austroriparius) is a small bat that is found throughout the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Plain of the southeastern United States.
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[edit] Description
The southeastern bat weighs 5-8 g. Its diet consists predominantly of insects. All species of the genus Myotis, including the southeastern bat, rest by day and forage at night. They often hunt and feed over water. The feeding flights usually alternate with periods of rest, during which the bats hang to digest their catch. The southeastern bat has a wingspan of about 9-11 inches. Pelage varies from gray to bright orange-brown, with females generally being more brightly colored than the males. Southeastern bats are unique among Myotis of the United States in the production of twins; all other Myotis usually produce one baby.
[edit] Habitat
Southeastern bats roost most commonly in caves when available or in cavities of hollow trees in floodplain forests. Southeastern bats will sometimes use man-made structures, typically barns or abandoned houses, as roost structures as well. Tree roosts are typically in large (greater than 80 cm diameter at breast height) gum (Nyssa spp.) trees.
[edit] Range
The range of this species includes southern Illinois and Indiana in the north, westward into southeastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas, and eastward to the southern part of North Carolina and the northern one-half of the peninsula of Florida.
[edit] Conservation status
No reliable data exist for the number of southeastern bats in the wild. Because of the wide distribution, low densities, and roost switching behavior in non-cave regions, it is extremely difficult to accurately assess the population status. However, because of our knowledge that the bottomland hardwood forests that it relies on in much of its range have decreased by as much as 75% over the last 200 years because of clearing and draining for agriculture and human development, much of its habitat has been lost.
The southeastern bat has been proposed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for listing as threatened or endangered, but has no official federal status. It is listed as a species of concern in most states where it occurs.
[edit] References
- Chiroptera Specialist Group (1996). Myotis austroriparius. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 December 2006. Listed as Lower Risk (least concern) (LR(lc) v2.3)
- Jones, C. and R. W. Manning. 1989. Myotis austroriparius. Mammalian Species 332:1-3.
- Harvey, M. J., J. S. Altenbach, and T. L. Best. 1999. Bats of the United States. Published by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in cooperation with the Asheville Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
