Cape hairy bat | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Chiroptera |
Family: | Vespertilionidae |
Genus: | Myotis |
Species: | M. tricolor |
Binomial name | |
Myotis tricolor | |
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Distribution of Cape hairy bat |
The Cape hairy bat, also known as little brown bat, Temminck's mouse-eared bat, Cape myotis, tricoloured mouse-eared bat, Cape hairy myotis, Temminck's hairy bat and three-coloured bat (Myotis tricolor) is a species of vesper bat that is found in Sub-Saharan Africa. [3]
The Cape hairy bat is a diminutive bat which is very similar in appearance to the even more diminutive rufous mouse-eared bat. It has orangey to rufous fur on its back with slightly paler fur on the underparts, the fur is long, erect and his soft to the touch. Each hair is dark at its base and coppery-red towards the tips. it has relatively broad wings which are dark brown contrasting with the bright fur of the body. It has a plain face with no nose leaf and with moderately large brown ears which have a long narrow tragus. [4] It weighs an average of 13.9g and the forelimb length is 49.5mm. [5]
The Cape hairy bat has only been recorded from the uplands of north-westernLiberia in West Africa and form a few places in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in central Africa. It occurs much more widely in East Africa, ranging from Ethiopia in the north, south through to southern South Africa. [4]
The Cape hairy bat requires suitable cave and is restricted to mountainous and rocky regions where these caves at found and its absence from flat treeless areas. [4] It will roost in abandoned mines and generally prefers large caverns which contain pools of water. [1] Hunting bats have been recorded in dry and moist savanna, and in mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. [1]
The Cape hairy bat forages for aerial insects along the edges of vegetation, where it captures species from the insect orders Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera, Neuroptera and Hymenoptera. [4]
The Cape hairy bat is a sociable species which roosts in caves. It switches between winter hibernation roosts and summer maternity caves, an occupied cave may contain up to 1500 individual bats. In KwaZulu Natal copulation occurred in May and the females stored the sperm until using it to fertilise the ovum in September, the young were born in November and December, the suckled for six weeks after birth. Each female give birth to a single baby and they gather together in maternity roosts to do so. [4]
Natterer's bat is a European vespertilionid bat with pale wings. It has brown fur tending to greyish-white on its underside. It is found across most of the continent of Europe, parts of the Near East and North Africa. It feeds on insects and other invertebrates which it catches on the wing or pursues on the ground.
The mouse-eared bats or myotises are a diverse and widespread genus (Myotis) of bats within the family Vespertilionidae. The noun "myotis" itself is a Neo-Latin construction, from the Greek "muós and "oûs", literally translating to "mouse-eared".
Hodgson's bat, also called the copper-winged bat or black-and-orange myotis, is a species of vesper bat in the genus Myotis, the mouse-eared bats. Favouring mountain forests, it is found throughout Central, Southeast, and East Asia, from Afghanistan to Taiwan. It is about 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long and is distinguished from most other species of bat in this range by its yellowish colouration.
The southeastern myotis is a small bat found throughout the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Plain of the southeastern United States.
The greater mouse-eared bat is a European species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae.
Rafinesque's big-eared bat, sometimes known as the southeastern big-eared bat, is a species of vesper bat native to the southeastern United States.
The hairy-legged myotis is a species of mouse-eared bat. It is found from southern Tamaulipas in Mexico, through much of Central America and across northern South America as far east as Trinidad. Further south, it is found along the foothills of the Andes as far south as northern Argentina.
The wall-roosting mouse-eared bat, or Nepalese whiskered myotis is a species of vesper bat whose type locality is Nepal.
Welwitsch's bat also known as Welwitsch's mouse-eared bat or Welwitsch's myotis is a species of vesper bat native to Africa.
Myotinae is a subfamily of vesper bats. It contains three genera: Eudiscopus, Myotis, and Submyotodon. Before the description of Submyotodon and analysis of its phylogenetics, as well as a phylogenetic analysis of Eudiscopus, the only member of Myotinae was Myotis.
The little brown bat or little brown myotis is an endangered species of mouse-eared microbat found in North America. It has a small body size and glossy brown fur. It is similar in appearance to several other mouse-eared bats, including the Indiana bat, northern long-eared bat, and Arizona myotis, to which it is closely related. Despite its name, the little brown bat is not closely related to the big brown bat, which belongs to a different genus.
The Virginia big-eared bat is one of two endangered subspecies of the Townsend's big-eared bat. It is found in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. In 1979, the US Fish and Wildlife Service categorized this as an endangered species. There are about 20,000 left and most of them can be found in West Virginia. The Virginia big-eared bat is the state bat of Virginia.
Myotis septentrionalis, known as the northern long-eared bat or northern myotis, is a species of bat native to North America. There are no recognized subspecies. The northern long-eared bat is about 3–3.7 inches in length, with a wingspan of 9–10 inches. It is distinguishable by its long ears when comparing it to other bats in its genus. This species is commonly found in the northern United States and Southern Canada east of British Columbia. The geographic range includes 37 states.
The long-fingered bat is a small carnivorous vesper bat.
There are eighteen indigenous species of bats in Canada, which are found in many parts of the country. They are insectivores, and are prey to falcons, hawks, owls, snakes, cats, and raccoons.
The Maluku myotis, also commonly known as the Arafura large-footed bat, is a species of mouse-eared bat. Native to Indonesia, and possibly New Guinea and northern Australia, it one of several species known as "fishing bats" because they catch their prey on the surface of water, scooping it up with their large feet.
A maternity colony refers to a temporary association of reproductive female bats for giving birth to, nursing, and weaning their pups. The colonies are initiated by pregnant bats. After giving birth, the colony consists of the lactating females and their offspring. After weaning, juveniles will leave the maternity colony, and the colony itself will break apart. The size of a maternity colony is highly variable by species, with some species forming colonies consisting of ten or fewer individuals, while the largest maternity colony in the world in Bracken Cave is estimated to have over 15 million bats.