| Southeastern Myotis | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus: | Myotis |
| Species: | M. austroriparius |
| Binomial name | |
| Myotis austroriparius (Rhoads, 1897) |
|
The Southeastern Myotis (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.
The Southeastern Myotis 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.
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.