Eastern red bat
Eastern red bat | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Chiroptera |
Family: | Vespertilionidae |
Genus: | Lasiurus |
Species: | L. borealis
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Binomial name | |
Lasiurus borealis Müller, 1776
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Range (note: map erroneously shows the species to be present in Cuba.) | |
Synonyms | |
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The eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) is a species of microbat in the family Vespertilionidae. Eastern red bats are widespread across eastern North America, with additional records in Bermuda.
Taxonomy and etymology
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Relationship of L. borealis within Lasiurus, based on an analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA.[2] |
It was
Description
The eastern red bat has distinctive fur, with males being brick or rusty red, and females being a slightly more frosted shade of red.
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Female eastern red bat, roosting in a tree
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In 1874 art
Biology and ecology
The aspect ratio and wing loading of eastern red bat wings indicates that they fly relatively quickly and are moderately maneuverable.[5] Eastern red bats are insectivorous, preying heavily on moths, with other insect taxa also consumed. They consume known pests, including gypsy moths, tent caterpillar moths, Cydia moths, Acrobasis moths, cutworm moths, and coneworm moths.[11]
Reproduction and life expectancy
Eastern red bat breeding season starts in the autumn,[12] and multiple males can sire a single litter.[13] Pups are born in the summer,[12] usually sometime between May and July.[14] Unlike other bats species who usually produce one pup, eastern red bats have on average three pups at a time, and some eastern red bats have given birth to as many as five pups.[15] Females have four nipples, which allows them to nourish multiple offspring at once. Eastern red bat pups learn to fly about a month after being born, after which they are weaned.[12] Even after the pups have learned how to fly, they remain with their mother for a while before roosting on their own.[14]
Eastern red bats are often attacked and killed by hawks and owls, or aggressive species like blue jays and crows; the former animal in particular serves as a major predator for bats hiding in leaf piles. Eastern red bats are also killed by flying into cars, tall human-made structures, or wind turbines. Allen Kurta argues that the lifespan for an eastern red bat is about two years, although they can probably live even longer.[15]
Range and habitat
The eastern red bat is widely distributed in eastern North America and
Conservation
The eastern red bat is evaluated as
Eastern red bats and other migratory tree bats are vulnerable to death by wind turbines via barotrauma.[18] The eastern red bat has the second-greatest mortality from wind turbines, with hoary bats most affected.[19]
While eastern red bats have been documented carrying the spores of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome, no individuals have been observed with clinical symptoms of the disease.[20]
See also
- Bats of Canada
- Bats of the United States
Explanatory notes
- Chiroptera.[3]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- PMID 29020097.
- S2CID 85948117.
- ^ Müller, P.L.S (1776). Des Ritters Carl von Linné vollständiges Natursystem: nach der zwölften lateinischen Ausgabe, und nach Anleitung des holländischen Houttuynischen Werks. Vol. 1. Gabriel Nicolaus Raspe. p. 20.
- ^ JSTOR 3503843.
- . p. 108.
- London, UK: Richard Bentley. p. 320.
- .
- ^ Menzel, Michael; Manzel, Jennifer; Kilgo, John; Ford, W. Mark; Carter, Timothy C.; Edwards, John W. (2003). Bats of the Savannah River Site and Vicinity. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. p. 29.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8014-3475-4.
- S2CID 3940026.
- ^ a b c "Eastern Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis)". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ISBN 9781477310038.
- ^ a b Davis, W.B. (1994). "Eastern Red Bat". The Mammals of Texas - Online Edition. Texas Tech University. Archived from the original on November 22, 2007.
- ^ ISBN 9780472053452.
- ^ OCLC 62265494.
- .
- .
- .
- ^ "Bats affected by WNS". White-Nose Syndrome.org. US Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
External links
- Media related to Lasiurus borealis at Wikimedia Commons