Pallid bat

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Pallid bat
Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus).jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Chiroptera
Family:
Vespertilionidae
Subfamily:
Vespertilioninae
Tribe:
Antrozoini
Genus:
Antrozous

H. Allen, 1862
Species:
A. pallidus
Binomial name
Antrozous pallidus
(LeConte, 1856)[2]
File:Antrozous pallidus map.png
Pallid Bat range

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The pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus) is a species of bat that ranges from western Canada to central Mexico. It is the sole species of its genus and is closely related to Van Gelder's bat (Bauerus dubiaquercus), which is sometimes included in Antrozous.[3] Although it has in the past been placed in its own subfamily (Antrozoinae) or even family (Antrozoidae), it is now considered part of the subfamily Vespertilioninae and the tribe Antrozoini.[4]

Description

Pallid bats have a head and body length of approximately 2.75 inches (6.2-7.9 cm), a tail of approximately 1.75 inches (3.9-4.9 cm), and a wingspan of 15-16 inches (38–40 cm).[5][6] They weigh 14-25 grams. These bats are large, with long forward pointing ears (over 2.5 cm). Fur is pale at the roots, brown on their back, with a light underside. Pallid bats have a blunt piglike snout.[5]

Ecology

File:Antrozous pallidus (Madera Canyon).jpg
A colony of roosting A. pallidus at Madera Canyon, Santa Rita Mountains, southeastern Arizona

Pallid bats are typically found in arid or semi-arid habitats, often in mountainous or rocky areas near water. They are also found over open, sparsely vegetated grasslands, and they seem to prefer to forage in the open. The pallid bat uses three different roosts: a day roost, a night roost for consuming prey, and a hibernation roost for the winter months. The day roost is usually in a warm, horizontal opening such as in attics or rock cracks; the night roost is usually in the open, near foliage; and the hibernation roost, which is often in buildings, caves, or cracks in rocks.[7]

Pallid bats are insectivores that feed on arthropods such as crickets and scorpions, and are capable of consuming up to half their weight in arthropods every night. Pallid bats are gleaners, capturing prey from the ground and transporting it to their night roost for consumption. When foraging, pallid bats typically fly at low heights of 1–2 m off the ground.[5][7]

Pallid bats are a unique bat species because they are heterothermic, meaning they can be either poikilothermic or homoeothermic depending on the time of year. They have the ability to control their body temperature and equilibrate it with the environment during winter hibernation and whenever they rest.[8]

Behavior and natural history

File:Antrozous pallidus1.jpg
Wingspan of the pallid bat

The mating season ranges from October to February. The female bat gives birth to twins during early June; they weigh about 3 to 3.5 g (0.11 to 0.12 oz) at birth and in four or five weeks are capable of making short flights. They do not attain adult size until about eight weeks of age, and do not become sexually mature until after around two years.

Like the majority of bat species, pallid bats are capable of using echolocation while foraging and traveling from their roost sites to foraging grounds. However, they may also opt to not echolocate while foraging, and instead use their large ears to locate insects on the ground.[9]

See also

References

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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Data related to Antrozous pallidus at Wikispecies

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