Big brown bat
| Big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus: | Eptesicus |
| Species: | E. fuscus |
| Binomial name | |
| Eptesicus fuscus (Palisot de Beauvois, 1796) |
|
The big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) is native to North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and extreme northern South America.
The species is larger in size than comparative species of bats, from about 4 to 5 inches (10 – 13 cm) in body length, with a 11-13 inch (28 to 33 cm) wingspan and weighing 1/2 to 5/8 ounce. The fur is moderately long, and shiny brown. The wing membranes, ears, feet, and face are dark brown to blackish in color.
Big brown bats are nocturnal, roosting during the day in hollow trees, beneath loose tree bark, in the crevices of rocks or in man-made structures such as attics, barns, old buildings, eaves and window shutters. Big brown bats navigate through the night skies by use of echolocation, producing ultrasonic sounds through the mouth or nose. Big brown bats are known also to produce audible sound during flight. Its voice is a click or a sound like escaping steam.
Contents |
Diet[edit]
Big brown bats are insectivorous, eating many kinds of night-flying insects including moths, beetles, and wasps which they capture in flight. This causes the sudden, frequent changes in direction.
Hibernation[edit]
Big brown bats hibernate during the winter months, often in different locations than their summer roosts. Winter roosts tend to be natural subterranean locations such as caves and underground mines where temperatures remain stable; it is still unknown where a large majority of Big Brown Bats spend the winter. If the weather warms enough, they may awaken to seek water, and even breed.
Life cycle[edit]
Big brown bats mate sporadically from November through March. After the breeding season, pregnant females separate themselves into maternity colonies.
Subspecies[edit]
- Eptesicus fuscus fuscus (Palisot de Beauvois)
- Eptesicus fuscus pallidus (Young)
The subspecies E. f. fuscus occurs in the entire eastern half of the U.S. except Florida. The subspecies E. f. pallidus occurs in Utah.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Miller, B., Reid, F., Arroyo-Cabrales, J., Cuarón, A.D. & de Grammont, P.C. (2008). "Eptesicus fuscus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- Reader's Digest North American Wildlife Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians (2nd Edition ed.). Reader's Digest. ISBN 0-7621-0035-4.
External links[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eptesicus fuscus |
| Bat Chirp | |
 click here to listen to the Big Brown bat chirp |
External audio- Eptesicus fuscus Echolocation Lab at Brown University
- NewScientist.com Article from issue 2581 of New Scientist magazine, 6 December 2006, page 21- Claims bats can navigate by sensing Earth's magnetic field
- Identifying Big Brown Bats by Professional Humane Bat Removers in New England
- Video of Big Brown Bat from Boulder, CO
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Eptesicus
- Bats of Canada
- Bats of the United States
- Bats of South America
- Mammals of Central America
- Mammals of Mexico
- Mammals of Costa Rica
- Mammals of Puerto Rico
- Fauna of the Eastern United States
- Fauna of the Western United States
- Fauna of the Great Lakes region (North America)
