| Southeastern myotis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus: | Myotis |
| Species: | M. austroriparius |
| Binomial name | |
| Myotis austroriparius (Rhoads, 1897) | |
 | |
| Distribution of the southeastern bat (1989) | |
The southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius) is a small bat 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 females usually produce one baby.
This species is occasionally observed roosting with Rafinesque's big-eared bats. [2]
The range of this species includes southern Illinois and Indiana in the north, westward into southeastern Oklahoma, western Tennessee and Arkansas, and northeastern Texas, and eastward to the southern part of North Carolina. Disjunct populations of this species occur in the Ohio River Valley of Kentucky, and the majority of the population lives in the northern half of the peninsula of Florida [3]
Southeastern myotis are an important food source for barred owls, particularly in the nesting season. [4] They are less important as a food source outside of the nesting season. [4]
The diet of the southeastern myotis diverges from many other Myotis species by lacking high diet diversity. Their diet diversity index of 3.26 is derived from a diet consisting of 59.0% trichopterans. This species was observed consuming few arachnids and coleopterans. Their diet is most similar to eastern pipistrelle than any other species of Myotis in their consumption of caddisflies. [5]
Bottomland hardwood forests are facets of southeastern myotis ecology. This species roosts and forages near water. Bottomland hardwood forests typically contain bald cypress and water tupelo which are common roosting trees of bottomland bats. Suitable habitats consist of trees of sufficient size and maturity sufficient for tree cavities to form. There is a positive correlation between captures of this species with percent oaks and a negative correlation with percent bald cypress. A direct relationship for this species exists with increased captures in younger forests of high stem density, low canopy height, and increasing ground cover. [6] They are also known to roost in caves, cisterns, abandoned buildings, and under bridges. The southeastern myotis shows preference for roost trees with the smallest DBH values available and tend to roost in densely packed clusters at cavity apexes. [7]
The southeastern myotis is currently listed (informally) by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a species of management concern. This species is associated with bottomland hardwood forests. This habitat type has suffered a loss of land cover with the estimation of only 15-25% of pre-colonial forested wetlands remaining in the southeastern United States. This species lives in a different forest system than species known as benefitting from forest harvests or thinning. Selectively logging non-cavity trees may leave roost trees, but it could potentially cause alternative disturbances to this species. [7] Some habitats are impacted by nearby areas with extensive agricultural development from lack of sufficient buffering. Flood pulses common to bottomland ecosystems could potentially impact the species. These inundations can cause drowning of maternity colonies or reduced availability of prey by disrupting larval insects. [6]
The New World leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) are found from southern North America to South America, specifically from the Southwest United States to northern Argentina. They are ecologically the most varied and diverse family within the order Chiroptera. Most species are insectivorous, but the phyllostomid bats include within their number true predatory species and frugivores. For example, the spectral bat, the largest bat in the Americas, eats vertebrate prey, including small, dove-sized birds. Members of this family have evolved to use food groups such as fruit, nectar, pollen, insects, frogs, other bats, and small vertebrates, and in the case of the vampire bats, even blood.
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 Indiana bat is a medium-sized mouse-eared bat native to North America. It lives primarily in Southern and Midwestern U.S. states and is listed as an endangered species. The Indiana bat is grey, black, or chestnut in color and is 1.2–2.0 in long and weighs 4.5–9.5 g (0.16–0.34 oz). It is similar in appearance to the more common little brown bat, but is distinguished by its feet size, toe hair length, pink lips, and a keel on the calcar.
The white-throated round-eared bat is a South and Central American bat species found from Honduras to Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil. It creates roosts inside the nests of the termite, Nasutitermes corniger. It thrives on a mainly insect-based diet, focusing on the surfaces of foliage to hunt, and also eats fruit and pollen. It has a very wide range and is a common species over much of that range, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The evening bat is a species of bat in the vesper bat family that is native to North America. Hunting at night, they eat beetles, moths, and other flying insects.
The Seminole bat is a 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.
Bechstein's bat is a species of vesper bat found in Europe and western Asia, living in extensive areas of woodland.
The long-eared myotis is a species of vesper bat in the suborder Microchiroptera. It can be found in western Canada, the western United States, and Baja California in Mexico.
The eastern small-footed bat is a species of vesper bat. It can be found in southern Ontario and Quebec in Canada and in mountainous portions of the eastern United States from New England to northern Georgia, and westward to northern Arkansas. It is among the smallest bats in eastern North America and is known for its small feet and black face-mask. Until recently, all North American small-footed Myotis were considered to be "Myotis leibii". The western population is now considered to be a separate species, Myotis ciliolabrum. The Eastern small-footed bat is rare throughout its range, although the species may be locally abundant where suitable habitat exists. Studies suggest white-nose syndrome has caused declines in their populations. However, most occurrences of this species have only been counted within the past decade or two and are not revisited regularly, making their population status difficult to assess. Additionally, most bat populations in the Eastern U.S. have been monitored using surveys conducted in caves and mines in the winter, but Eastern small-footed bats hibernate in places that make them unlikely to be encountered during these surveys. Perhaps as a result, the numbers of Eastern small-footed bats counted in winter tend to be low and they are relatively variable compared to other species of bats. Many biologists believe the species is stable, having declined little in recent times, but that it is vulnerable due to its relatively restricted geographic range and habitat needs.
The fringed myotis is a species of vesper bat that is found in British Columbia, Mexico, and the western United States.
The long-legged myotis is a species of vesper bat that can be found in western Canada, Mexico, and the western United States.
Welwitsch's bat also known as Welwitsch's mouse-eared bat or Welwitsch's myotis is a species of vesper bat native to Africa.
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 Alcathoe bat is a European bat in the genus Myotis. Known only from Greece and Hungary when it was first described in 2001, its known distribution has since expanded to Spain, England, Sweden, and Azerbaijan, among other countries. It is similar to the whiskered bat and other species and is difficult to distinguish from them. However, its brown fur is distinctive and it is clearly different in characters of its karyotype and DNA sequences. Although some genetic data suggest that it is related to Geoffroy's bat, other analyses do not support a close relationship between M. alcathoe and any other species.
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 California myotis is a species of vesper bat. It is found in British Columbia in Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, and in the western United States, including California.
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.
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.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)