Eastern Pipistrelle

Taxobox
name = Eastern Pipistrelle


status = LR/lc | status_system = IUCN2.3
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Chiroptera
familia = Vespertilionidae
genus = "Perimyotis"
species = "P. subflavus"
binomial = "Pipistrellus subflavus"
binomial_authority = F. Cuvier, 1832

The Eastern Pipistrelle ("Perimyotis subflavus") is a species of bat that is widely distributed throughout the eastern parts of North America, ranging west until Kansas and Texas, from eastern Mexico up north until southern Ontario. It is the only member of the genus "Perimyotis".

Description

This reddish, yellowish and brownish bat is one of the smallest bats in eastern North America. The forearms are orange to red, and the wing membrane is black. Adults weigh between 4 to 8 g and reach a forearm length of some 3 cm.

Pipistrelles are nicknamed butterfly bats for their distinctive moth-like flight pattern.

Life history

Pipistrelles mate in autumn in the area around their hibernacula. The females store their mates' sperm inside their reproductive tracts during their hibernation in winter and ovulate in early spring. They hibernate alone or in small groups in caves or mines at temperatures from 4 to 10°C, and they usually return to the same hibernation site year after year. When they wake up from hibernation, the females form maternity colonies that are no bigger than 20 bats, whereas the males roost alone during summer. These maternity colonies roost in foliage and are usually exposed to more light than any other bat species. After a gestation period of 44 to 60 days, one to two pups are born in June. (Most other species of bats give birth to only one offspring.) Each one weighs about 20% of its mother's weight. For the first few days after birth the mother carries the blind and hairless pups between roosts. They grow quickly, are volant within 14-21 days and stop getting nursed at four weeks of age.

Male pipstrelles live for about 15 years; the females can get as old as 10 years.

Feeding

These bats eat small insects. The hunt at the edges of forests, near streams or over open water and can achieve a speed of about 18 km/h. When the pipistrelles capture food they use the tail or wing membranes to restrain their prey. Some insects are even captured by their tail membrane. It forms a pouch and the bat bends its head in to grab the insect with its teeth. They can catch insects as much as every 2 seconds and increase their mass by 25% in only half an hour.

Classification

Although traditionally considered a member of the genus "Pipistrellus", a growing body of evidence suggests that the Eastern Pipistrelle is only distantly related to the pipistrelles proper. Hoofer and Van Den Bussche (2003) found the Pipistrellini (containing "Pipistrellus s.s.", "Nyctalus", and "Scotoecus") sister to the Vespertillionini. Both the Eastern and Western Pipistrelle were outside of this clade. They suggest that the Eastern Pipistrelle be removed from the genus "Pipistrellus" and placed in its own genus, "Perimyotis".

References

*
*Hoofer, S. R. and R. A. Van Den Bussche. 2003. Molecular phylogenetics of the chiropteran family Vespertillionidae. Acta Chiropterologica 5, supplement:1-63.

External links

* [http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/easpip/ The Eastern Pipistrelle] from Texas Parks & Wildlife.
* [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pipistrellus_subflavus.html Pipistrellus subflavus] at ADW.