Southeastern myotis

Southeastern Myotis
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Vespertilionidae
Genus:	Myotis
Species:	M. austroriparius
Binomial name
Myotis austroriparius (Rhoads, 1897)

The Southeastern Myotis (Myotis austroriparius) is a small bat that is found throughout the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Plain of the southeastern United States.

Description

The Southeastern Myotis weighs 5-8 g. Its diet consists predominantly of insects. All species of the genus Myotis, including the southeastern bat, rest by day and forage at night. They often hunt and feed over water. The feeding flights usually alternate with periods of rest, during which the bats hang to digest their catch. The southeastern bat has a wingspan of about 9-11 inches. Pelage varies from gray to bright orange-brown, with females generally being more brightly colored than the males. Southeastern bats are unique among Myotis of the United States in the production of twins; all other Myotis usually produce one baby.

Range

The range of this species includes southern Illinois and Indiana in the north, westward into southeastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas, and eastward to the southern part of North Carolina and the northern one-half of the peninsula of Florida.

References

1. ^ "Myotis austroriparius". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. 2008. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/14147. Retrieved 07 February 2010. 

• Jones, C. and R. W. Manning. 1989. Myotis austroriparius. Mammalian Species 332:1-3.
• Harvey, M. J., J. S. Altenbach, and T. L. Best. 1999. Bats of the United States. Published by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in cooperation with the Asheville Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.