View source for Canyon bat

{{Short description|Species of bat}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Canyon bat
| image = Western pipistrelle.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 17 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Solari, S. |date=2019 |title=''Parastrellus hesperus'' |volume=2019 |page=e.T17341A22129352 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T17341A22129352.en |access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Parastrellus
| parent_authority = Hoofer et al., 2006<ref name="newgenus">{{cite journal
    | last1=Hoofer | first1=Steven R.
    | last2=Van Den Bussche | first2=Ronald A.
    | last3=Horáček | first3=Ivan
    | date = 2006-10-01
    | title = Generic Status of the American Pipistrelles (Vespertilionidae) with Description of a New Genus
    | journal = Journal of Mammalogy
    | volume = 87
    | issue = 5
    | pages = 981–992
    | doi=10.1644/05-MAMM-A-425R1.1
    | issn = 0022-2372
    | jstor = 4094268
    | doi-access = free
    }}</ref>
| display_parents = 2
| species = hesperus
| authority = ([[Harrison Allen|H.Allen]], 1864)
| range_map = Us pipistrelle bat distribution.png
| range_map_caption = Canyon bat range (pink)<ref name="dalquest">{{Cite book
| publisher = University of Kansas
| volume = 1
| pages = 591–602
| last = Dalquest
| first = Walter Woelber
|author2=Eugene Raymond Hall
 | title = The Project Gutenberg eBook of a Synopsis of the American Bats of the Genus Pipistrellus, by e. Raymond Hall and Walter W. Dalquest.
| chapter = A Synopsis of the American Bats of the Genus Pipistrellus by Dalquest and Hall
| location = Lawrence, Kansas
| date = 1950-01-20
| chapter-url = https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34532/34532-h/34532-h.htm
}}</ref>
| synonyms = 
}}

The '''canyon bat''' ('''''Parastrellus hesperus'''''), also known as the '''western pipistrelle''',<ref name="batcon">{{Cite web
| author = Bat Conservation International
| title = Species Profiles: Parastrellus hesperus
| access-date = 2011-05-14
| url = http://www.batcon.org/index.php/all-about-bats/species-profiles.html?task=detail&species=1937&country=43&state=all&family=all&start=25
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110725042425/http://www.batcon.org/index.php/all-about-bats/species-profiles.html?task=detail&species=1937&country=43&state=all&family=all&start=25
| archive-date = 25 July 2011
| url-status = dead
}}</ref><ref name="bats_aleshire">{{Cite book
| publisher = Stackpole Books
| isbn = 978-0-8117-3643-5
| last = Aleshire
| first = Peter
| title = Bats
| date = 2011-04-01
| page = [https://archive.org/details/bats0000ales/page/80 80]
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/bats0000ales/page/80
}}</ref> or '''American parastrelle'''<ref name="SchmidleyTTU">{{cite web |title=Mammals of Texas |url=https://www.depts.ttu.edu/nsrl/mammals-of-texas-online-edition/Accounts_Chiroptera/Parastrellus_hesperus.php |website=Natural Science Research Laboratory |publisher=Texas Tech University |access-date=17 October 2023}}</ref> is a species of [[vesper bat]]. It is found in [[Mexico]] and in the western [[United States]].<ref name="iucn status 17 November 2021" /> The species has historically been placed in the genus ''[[Pipistrellus]]'', but molecular evidence does not show any close relationship with that genus, and accordingly it was classified into its own genus, ''Parastrellus'', in 2006.<ref name="newgenus"/>

==Characteristics==
''Parastrellus hesperus'' is the smallest bat in the United States.<ref name=barbour>{{cite book|title=Bats of America|url=https://archive.org/details/batsofamerica0000barb|url-access=registration|year=1969|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|location=Lexington|pages=[https://archive.org/details/batsofamerica0000barb/page/111 111–14]|author=Barbour, Roger W.|author2=Wayne H. Davis }}</ref> It has a wingspan of {{convert|190|–|215|mm}}<ref name=barbour /> and a body length of {{convert|62|–|80|mm}}.<ref name=wood>{{cite journal|last=Wood Grinnell|first=Hilda|title=A synopsis of the bats of California|journal=University of California Publications in Zoology|year=1918|volume=17|pages=304–14}}</ref> The tail is {{convert|29|-|30|mm}}, the hind feet are {{convert|5|mm}}, and the ears are {{convert|9|mm}}.<ref name="Grinnell">{{cite book |last1=Grinnell |first1=Joseph |last2=Storer |first2=Tracy Irwin |title=Animal life in the Yosemite: An account of the mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians in a cross-section of the Sierra Nevada |date=1924 |publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley, Calif.|page=57 |url=https://archive.org/details/animallifeinyose00grinrich/page/57/mode/1up |access-date=11 September 2023}}</ref> On average, females are slightly larger than males of this species.<ref name=wood /> ''P. hesperus'' ranges in color from white to pale yellow to dark brown. These bats exhibit counter shading, being dark above and lighter colored below. Their faces, ears, feet, and flight membranes are usually very dark, almost black. The pelage is {{convert|3|–|4|mm}} long and is full and soft. The bases of all the hairs are black with the distal portions fading to lighter shades. The wings of ''P. hesperus'' are hairless except for the lower third of the interfemoral membrane; the toes also have a light sprinkling of fine hairs.<ref name=wood /> The wings are short and broad, giving ''P. hesperus'' a low-aspect wing which allows it to fly at speeds as low as {{convert|5|mph|order=flip}}.<ref name="flightspeed1964">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.2307/1376986| issn = 0022-2372| volume = 45| issue = 2| pages = 236–242| last = Hayward| first = Bruce|author2=Russell Davis | title = Flight Speeds in Western Bats| journal = Journal of Mammalogy| date = 1964-05-01| jstor = 1376986}}</ref>
''P. hesperus'' has a short, broad head and short ears with a small, club-shaped tragus.<ref name=barbour /><ref name=wood />
[[File:Canyon Bat.jpg|left|thumb|Canyon bat, Amargosa Valley, California]]
It weighs 3–6 grams (0.10 – 0.21 oz.)<ref>{{cite web |date=28 September 2020 |title=Bat Species |url=https://www.nps.gov/labe/learn/nature/bat-species.htm |website=[[National Park Service]]}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==

''P. hesperus'' is found in the deserts and lowlands of the western United States and Mexico. While it is most commonly found in the deserts of the southwestern U.S., ''P. hesperus'' occupies a range extending north to the state of Washington and south to the Mexican states of Michoacan and Hidalgo. An isolated population has been found in north-central Texas and Oklahoma. These bats prefer the lowlands and are usually the most common bats found below an elevation of 5,000 feet within their range.<ref name=barbour />

During the day, rock crevices serve as the preferred roosting sites for ''P. hesperus'', although some bats have been found roosting in crevices inside mines. The bats may also be found in buildings, under rocks, and in dense growths of sedge. These roosting sites are much less frequently used than the preferred rocky crevices.<ref name=barbour /> Due to their small size, ''P. hesperus'' are vulnerable to dehydration and desiccation. Bats of this species inhabiting barren desert areas devoid of trees and rocky outcroppings must find an appropriately sheltered roost in which to spend the daylight hours or risk death. One hypothesis is that ''P. hesperus'' spends the day in kangaroo rat burrows, but no evidence currently exists to support this.<ref name=barbour /> In some areas, the bats may roost in the piles of rocks used to anchor the soil along the bases of highway and railroad embankments.

==Behavior and reproduction==
''Parastrellus hesperus'' is commonly the first bat out in the evening and the last bat to be seen after sunrise. These bats are most active in the hours immediately following sunset and preceding sunrise and are usually not active during the overnight hours. On a few occasions, ''P. hesperus'' has been observed in flight during the late morning hours in full sunlight.<ref name=wood />

''P. hesperus'' is an insectivorous bat. As such, their flight is erratic and fluttery. Their low-aspect wings give these bats increased maneuverability, an important characteristic when hunting flying insects.<ref name=barbour /> They forage in the open above small trees.<ref name="Grinnell" />

''P. hesperus'' will enter periods of hibernation when the weather grows cold or food supplies diminish. However, both male and female members of this species will sometimes emerge during the winter months to hunt, though not in the numbers commonly observed during warmer times of the year.<ref name=farrell>{{cite journal|last=O'Farrell|first=Michael J. |author2=W. Glen Bradley |author3=Gary W. Jones|title=Fall and winter bat activity at a desert spring in southern Nevada|journal=The Southwestern Naturalist|date=4 August 1967|volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=163–71|doi=10.2307/3669270 |jstor=3669270 |url=http://mammalogist.org/PDF/reprints/Pub002.pdf}}</ref> ''P. hesperus'' hibernates in mines, caves, and rocky crevices. These bats are not known to hibernate in large groups and are usually found singly.<ref name=barbour />

Females of ''P. hesperus'' give birth to their young in June. These bats usually have two young, but may produce only one young per mating.<ref name=barbour /><ref name=wood /> In keeping with their mostly solitary nature, females raise their young alone or in small maternity colonies of no more than a dozen bats.<ref name=barbour /> Young are typically capable of flight within 2–3 weeks of birth.<ref name=barbour />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Pipistrellus hesperus}}
{{Wikispecies|Pipistrellus hesperus}}

* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_horned_jew_lizard/181767809/ An image of a Western Pipistrelle on Flickr.]
* [https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180024 ITIS Standard report]
* [http://sibr.com/mammals/M031.html Western Pipistrelle Fact Sheet]

{{Vespertilionidae|V.|P.}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q47544901|from2=Q786179}}

[[Category:Vesper bats]]
[[Category:Bats of the United States]]
[[Category:Mammals of Mexico]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Western United States]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Colorado Desert]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Mojave Desert]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Great Basin]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Sonoran Desert]]
[[Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1864]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Harrison Allen]]