Spotted bat

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Euderma maculatum
Side view of spotted bat -Euderma maculatum- by Paul Cryan.jpg
Side view
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Vespertilionidae
Tribe: Plecotini
Genus: Euderma
H. Allen, 1892
Species:
E. maculatum
Binomial name
Euderma maculatum
(Allen, 1891)
Euderma maculatum map.svg
Synonyms

Euderma maculata (Allen, 1891)
Histiotus maculatus Allen, 1891

Contents

The spotted bat (Euderma maculatum) is a species of vesper bat and the only species of the genus Euderma.

Description

The spotted bat was first described by zoologist Joel Asaph Allen from the American Museum of Natural History in 1891. It can reach a length of 12 cm and a wingspan of 35 cm. The weight is about 15 g. It has three distinctive white spots on its black back. With ears that can grow up to 4 cm, it is said to have the largest ears of any bat species in North America. [2] The spotted bat's mating season is in autumn and the females produce their offspring (usually one juvenile) in June or July. Its main diet is grasshoppers and moths.

Habitat and distribution

The spotted bat is a largely Western North American species, typically found west of the Rocky Mountains, from southern British Columbia to the U.S.-Mexico Border of Arizona and California—although sightings have occurred as far away as southwestern Montana, near Bozeman, and as far south as Pachuca (Hidalgo), México. [3] The species' favored habitat varies, from undisturbed cliffside roosts along the Grand Canyon, in Arizona, to open and dense deciduous and coniferous forests as far north as southern British Columbia. Additionally, the species may be found in hay fields, deserts, marshes, riparian zones, or chaparral habitats.

Some of the most northerly sightings of the spotted bat have taken place in Canada, near Cache Creek and Vancouver, British Columbia; however, it is primarily known from the states of California, Arizona and Nevada, as well as parts of western Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, New Mexico, Utah and Washington. [3]

Threats

Use of pesticides such as DDT and other insecticides in the 1960s led to a severe decline in the spotted bat population, but current observations had shown that it is more common than formerly believed. Abundance, population trend, and threats are widely unknown.

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. Arroyo-Cabrales, J.; Álvarez-Castañeda, S.T. (2017). "Euderma maculatum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T8166A22028573. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T8166A22028573.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. "Classify a Chiropteran" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-12-21. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  3. 1 2 "Observations • iNaturalist".

Further reading