Seminole bat

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Lasiurus seminolus
)

Seminole bat
The image depicts a Seminole bat in the hands of a researcher

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Vespertilionidae
Genus: Lasiurus
Species:
L. seminolus
Binomial name
Lasiurus seminolus
(Rhoads, 1895)

The Seminole bat (Lasiurus seminolus) is a species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae.

Taxonomy

Lasiurini

Dasypterus

Aeorestes

L. blossevillii

L. frantzii

L. borealis

L. pfeifferi

L. seminolus

Relationship of L. seminolus within Lasiurus, based on an analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA.[2]

The Seminole bat was first

Tarpon Springs, Florida in 1892 by William S. Dickinson. Rhoads placed it in the now-defunct genus Atalpha, identifying it as a subspecies of the eastern red bat with a scientific name of Atalpha borealis seminolus. In 1932, the name Lasiurus seminolus was applied to the taxon for the first time by Earl Lincoln Poole.[4]

Description

The Seminole bat is often confused with the red bat. This is due to the coloring of the Seminole bat, which is a mahogany color with a frosted look due to white tipped dorsal hairs.[4] Coloring is not sexually dimorphic, meaning that males and females are similar in color.[4] Average weight is around 12 grams with females being larger than males.[4]

Diet

Seminole bats are insectivores. Insectivores are animals that feed primarily on insects. They have been found to eat relatively large amount of Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps), Coleoptera (beetles), Lepidoptera (moths).[5] They have also been shown to eat smaller amounts of Homoptera (cicadas) and Diptera (flies).[5]

Distribution

The Seminole bat is found in the

Gulf Coast, in the Carolinas, and southern Arkansas during the winter. In the summer, they migrate as far north as Missouri and Kentucky.[6]

In 2015, it was documented for the first time in northwestern North Carolina.[7]

The bats prefer to live in forested areas. In winter months they are found to use

leaf litter and Spanish moss as insulation in their roost sites.[8] Spanish moss is also thought to be an important factor in Seminole bat environments year round and is believed to be a limiting factor in distribution of these bats.[4]

References