Chiroptera (bats)

Bats are the only mammals that truly fly. They often use caves and 

some species are extremely dependent on caves to survive. They evolved

such habits long before humans evolved, and they are dependent on us

to respect their needs. Shining lights on bats, making noise, or even

just passing by their clusters can cause them to wake from hibernation

and use up needed fat, or in spring to become startled and flee, 

abandoning or dropping their young, which they cannot retrieve.

8/01

 

020a.jpg: Eastern Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus subflavus (Cuvier), TX: The most commonly seen cave bat in Missouri. Wingspan 21-26 cm, forearm 31-35 mm, weight 6-8 g. A small bat with tricolored pelage (fur), blonde to medium brown, often with dew, the wing skin is almost black, and the forearms usually are pink. The tip of the tragus in the ear is rounded (inset), unlike most Myotis, in which it is pointed. Sutton (1997) recorded "pips" from half of the caves he examined. Common in caves from fall through spring, where they prefer to roost singly in the dark zone.
020a.jpg		 020b.jpg: Eastern pipistrelle, Pipistrellus subflavus, bejewelled with water droplets.
020b.jpg		 020c.jpg: Eastern pipistrelle, Pipistrellus subflavus, hanging out on one foot with one wing akimbo.
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020d.JPG: Face of Eastern Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus subflavus (Cuvier). Some are pale about the face. Look for the black wing skin, pink forearm, and somewhat rounded tip of tragus.
020d.JPG		 021a.jpg: Big Brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus (de Beauvois), TX: Wingspan 32-40 cm, forearm 42-51 mm, weight 14-21 g. A large bat with long, wavy, chestnut fur, a broad, dark muzzle and broad tragus. Hibernates near entrances in winter, but often moves. Often uses buildings in summer.
021a.jpg		 021b.jpg: Note the broad, dark muzzle of Big Brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus. Also the fur is long and the tragus is broad, almost circular.
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022.jpg: Little Brown bat, Myotis lucifugus (LeConte), TX: Wingspan 22-27 cm, forearm 34-41 mm, weight 7-14 g. Closely related to the Indiana bat and difficult to distinguish. Fur medium to dark brown; belly fur distinctly lighter than back fur; dark forearms with chocolate brown wing membrane; fur and membranes glossy; fur sometimes covered with condensation. Common throughout its range, hibernates in caves but not in large clusters. May roost singly, in pairs, or in clusters of a dozen or more bats; likes attics in summer.
022.jpg		 023.jpg: Little brown & Indiana bats look almost alike. The little brown on the left has glossy wing skin while the Indiana bat has more of a "satin finish." Indianas have a small keel on the edge of the wing membrane next to the ankle, but this can only be observed by a qualified biologist handling the bat.
023.jpg		 024a.jpg: Indiana bat, Myotis sodalis Miller and Allen, TX: Wingspan 24-28 cm, forearm 35-41 mm, weight 6-9 g. An endangered species. Pink nose sort of flattened; fur dark gray or brown with a reddish/pinkish tone; belly fur somewhat lighter than back fur; fur and membranes dull, not glossy.
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024b.JPG: The Indiana bat has a characteristic posture like this, wheras Gray bats often hang with one or both wings partly open. The Indiana's fur may look almost black, but in a flash photo like this it looks light. The fur has a dull or satin sheen, with a reddish/pinkish tone.
024b.JPG		 024c.jpg: Keeled calcar, diagnostic character of the endangered Indiana bat, Myotis sodalis.
024c.jpg		 025.jpg: Indiana bats usually hibernate in clusters but may roost singly. They form large, dense clusters up to 300-400 per square foot, sometimes of hundreds or thousands of bats. Recorded from about 60 Missouri caves, but now limited to about 20 cold-air-trap caves. Vulnerable to disturbance during hibernation (arousal causes the depletion of fat reserves). Not in caves in summer.
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026a.jpg: Gray bat, Myotis grisescens (Howell), TX: Wingspan 27-32 cm, forearm 40-46 mm, weight 8-11 g. Fur uniform medium gray, but bleaches to reddish by spring and early summer. Uses caves year round. Hibernates in very large numbers in only a few cold-air-trap caves.
026a.jpg		 026b.jpg: Gray bat and Eastern pipistrelle hang out together; this is rarely seen.
026b.jpg		 027a.jpg: Gray bats form looser clusters than Indiana bats but common habit of hanging upon other bats produces multiple layers in some clusters; often hangs with wings unfolded. Summer colonies form in warm caves in river valleys or near lakes; make large guano mounds. Highly vulnerable to disturbance during all seasons (arousal during hibernation causes depletion of fat reserves; disturbance of maternity colonies causes panic and may produce mortality of young).
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027f.jpg: Norman Murray views bat stains in an abandoned Gray bat maternity roost, Blackwell Cave, Hickory Co., Missouri. Looters disturbed the colony when they broke through the cave gate to dig up artifacts.
027b.jpg		 028a.jpg: Northern Long-eared bat, Myotis septentrionalis (Trouessart), TX: Wingspan 23-27 cm, forearm 32-39 mm, ears 17-19 mm, weight 6-9 g. Formerly called "Keen's bat," this species has long ears, but only half as long as a Big-eared bat's. Often roosts solitarily but sometimes hibernates in small clusters of five or ten; frequently tucked into holes in ceiling or tight crevices in formations.
027d.jpg		 028b.jpg: Myotis septentrionalis, Northern long-eared bat, in small clusters.
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029a.jpg: Ozark Big-eared bat, Corynorhinus townsendii ingens Handley, TX: Wingspan 30-32 cm, forearm 39-48 mm, ears 33-38 mm, weight 8-14 g. Besides the huge ears, the nose has lumps on either side, and the fur is brown with tan belly. This endangered subspecies has not been confirmed in Missouri since 1971, but still lives in Arkansas and Oklahoma. A similar species, Rafinesque's Big-eared bat, is gray with whitish belly and rarely is found in caves. In hibernation the ears are often rolled up like rams' horns to conserve heat. By Brenda Clark.
028b.jpg		 029b.jpg: Myotis austroriparius, the Southeastern bat. This bat barely gets into southern Missouri, but is found in many southeastern U.S. caves.
029a.jpg		 030a.JPG: Eastern Red bat, Lasiurus borealis (Muller), TX: Wingspan 28-33 cm, forearm 35-45 mm, weight 9-15 g. Red bats inhabit trees and usually hang by one foot to mimic a leaf. They may swarm at some cave entrances in autumn for mating in flight, and occasionally they may wander farther in. They bear two to four young in the spring. By James E. Gardner.
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030a.JPG		 030b.jpg: Red bat bones embedded in calcite in the "Bat Graveyard" of a well-known cave. By James E. Gardner.
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