Ozark big-eared bat
| Ozark big-eared bat | |
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| An Ozark big-eared bat on a cave ceiling | |
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| Hibernating Ozark big-eared bat | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus: | Corynorhinus |
| Species: | C. townsendii |
| Subspecies: | C. t. ingens
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| Trinomial name | |
| Corynorhinus townsendii ingens Handley, 1955
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| Synonyms[4] | |
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Plecotus townsendii subsp. ingens (Handley, 1955) | |
The Ozark big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii ingens) is an endangered species found only in a small number of caves in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, the southern central United States. Also known as the western big-eared bat, the long-eared bat, and the lump-nosed bat, its appearance is defined by a pair of outsize ears and a lump-adorned nose.
The
Corynorhinus townsendii, is medium-sized and weighs from 0.2 to 0.5 ounces.[5] It has very large, 1-inch-long ears that connect at the base across the forehead.[5] The snout has large, prominent lumps above the nostrils.[5] These particular bats feed on moths and other insects; they forage along forest edges.[5]
Importance
Bats are beneficial to our planet in a myriad of ways. A colony of big brown bats can eat 18 million
antibiotics.[6]
Habitat
The caves used by Ozark big-eared bats are located in
oak-hickory forests.[5] Karst, a special type of landscape, is formed by the dissolution of soluble rocks, including limestone and dolomite.[8] The temperature of hibernation caves ranges from 40 to 50 °F (4.4 to 10 °C).[5] The Ozark big-eared bats use caves all year around, thus they are highly susceptible to extinction if their homes vary too greatly in temperature, are disturbed, or are destroyed.[5] The Ozark big-eared bats once lived in caves in Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma,.[9] but they have apparently abandoned their Missouri habitat due to human encroachment and cave disturbance.[9]
Offspring
over-exploited.[citation needed] Young bats grow quite rapidly and are capable of flight at three weeks, and by six weeks, they are weaned from the mother.[5]
Causes of decline
Concern about the
white nose syndrome, over-exploitation, and extermination as pests.[7] Habitat fragmentation, a major concern, creates a disruption of extensive habitats into bat populations. The primary cause of decline is disturbance. When humans enter hibernation caves, they arouse the bats, whose metabolic rate increases. A single arousal can expend 10 to 30 days of fat reserve. This can result in death by starvation, because the bats have little extra fat reserve. Predation at the cave entrance by house cats, racoons, bobcats, and other animals has also caused significant mortality.[10]
Conservation efforts
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has established the Sequoyah/Oklahoma Bat Caves National Wildlife Refuge.[11] In other areas, cave entrances have been fenced—to keep humans and domestic animals out of the caves but to allow bats access.
See also
- Bats of the United States
References
- ^ NatureServe (1 December 2023). "Corynorhinus townsendii ingens". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ "Ozark big-eared bat (Corynorhinus (=Plecotus) townsendii ingens)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ 44 FR 69206
- ^ "Corynorhinus townsendii ingens Handley, 1955". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
- ^ a b Wild Cave National Park
- ^ a b c d Bogan
- ^ Karst Waters Institute
- ^ a b National Geographic
- ^ Harley, Stephen A. Miller, John P. Zoology 5th edition (8th ed.). Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill. p. 60.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "About Us". Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
Bibliography
- Bogan, Michael. "Potential Effects of Global Changes on Bats." http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/biology/bats/, (accessed January 28, 2009).
- Groom, Martha et al.,. Principles of Conservation Biology. Saunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates, Inc., 2006.
- Karst Waters Institute, (http://www.karstwaters.org/kwitour/whatiskarst.htm Archived 2015-04-08 at the Wayback Machine), 2002–2008, (accessed February 1, 2009).
- National Geographic, ([1]), 1996–2009, (accessed February 4, 2009).
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/Oklahoma/spplist.htm, (accessed January 28, 2009).
External links
- Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission: Further Reading
- Read the 5-Year Review: Summary & Evaluation, prepared by Richard Stark of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Tulsa OK, May 22, 2008
| Authority control databases: National |
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