#bats of North America

[loveisinthebat]

Dropping in

[timmurleyart]

Bubblegum bat. 🟣🔴🦇🟠(Mixed media on paper)🍬

[toyoll]

Forgot to upload these!

I'm reading several books I bought recently (all at the same time like a lunatic), so I pretty quickly ran out of bookmarks. I was actually pretty miffed and started looking online or trying to think of places I could buy more on my way to work.

Y'know. Completley and utterly forgetting that I draw for a living.

Eventually my synapses fired properly and I grabbed some spare cotton paper. Not super clean and pretty muddy, but they're only supposed to be my own personal bookmarks!

Eastern Red Bat on top

Evening Bat on the bottom

[mammalianmammals]

Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus), family Vespertilionidae, found in much of the United States and Canada

ENDANGERED.

photograph by Michael Durham Bat Conservation International

[lizardsaredinosaurs]

Tiny enough for your pocket :D

Gray Bat (Myotis grisescens)

Southeastern USA

Status: Vulnerable

Threats: pesticides, human disturbance

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No really, they're so tiny.

[sitting-on-me-bum]

The lesser long-nosed bat, a crucial pollinator for desert ecosystems, is one of only three bat species in North America that feed on nectar.

PHOTOGRAPH BY TOM VEZO, MINDEN PICTURES

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Fly Free with the Mexican Free-tailed Bat

Also known as the Brazilian free-tailed bat, guano bat, or Tadarida brasiliensis, this member of the order Chiroptera is one of the most widely-distributed New World bat species. They are common throughout the southern United States, Central America, and western South America. In many parts of the southern United States, the species is migratory and moves to Central America for the winter. They roost primarily in caves, but can also build nests in buildings; because of this, they can be found in a range of habitats including tropical and deciduous forests, mountains, deserts, and urban areas.

Like most bats, the Mexican free-tailed bat is nocturnal, emerging at sunset to hunt. They are primarily insectivores, and will travel great over 31 km (50 mi) to find food. In fact, this species holds the record for both the highest recorded flight altitude-- at 3.3 km (2 mi) high-- and the fastest flight speed-- an astounding 160 kph (99.4 mph)! That makes the Brazilian free-tailed bat the fastest mammal on Earth, although they can only achieve those top speeds in short bursts and with a good tail wind. Moving that fast can be useful, not only for covering great distances or catching insects, but for avoiding predators like raptors and owls. Young bats that can't fly may also be susceptible to opossums, skunks, and snakes.

The roosts of T. brasiliensis can be quite large; many contain several thousand individuals, while some have been recorded as housing more than a million. For this reason, communication is very important. Mexican free-tailed bats use echolocation to navigate and, for mothers, to locate their young. This species has over 15 distinct calls just for socialization. In addition, they can use their vocalizations to 'jam' the echolocation of other rival species and steal their prey.

Mating for the Brazilian free-tailed bat occurs once a year in the spring. Females gather in large maternity groups, while males mark out a territory by urinating and emitting loud vocalizations. Once a pair mates, the two separate- often to seek out another partner. Gestation lasts 11-12 weeks, and once females give birth they leave their offspring in a group of pups known as a creche, that is cared for communally. The pups take 4-7 weeks to be weaned, and after they learn to fly they join the larger roost as independent adults. However, females take up to 9 months to become sexually mature, while males may take as long as 2 years. In the wild, an individual may live as long as 8 years.

Size-wise, T. brasiliensis is on the smaller side of the bat group. Most individuals are around 9 cm (3.5 in) in length and weigh around 7–12 g (0.25–0.42 oz), with a wingspan of 28 cm (11 in). Females tend to be slightly heavier, but not larger otherwise. The tail of the Mexican free-tailed bat accounts for nearly half its total body length, and is unconnected by the thin membrane that makes up its wings (the uropatagium)-- hence the name 'free-tailed'. The ears are large and rounded, to assist with echolocation, and the muzzle is heavily wrinkled to give them a wider gape when catching bugs in mid-air. The Brazilian free-tailed bat's fur is dark brown or gray, with no distinguishing features save the long, white bristles around their feet.

Conservation status: The IUCN has classified the Mexican free-tailed bat as Near Threatened. However, populations are declining due to habitat destruction and susceptibility to a fungus known as white nose syndrome. Governments in the southern United States and Mexico, as well as private NGOs like Bat Conservation International, have established laws and conservation areas to protect the species.

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Photos

Michael Durham

Merlin D. Tuttle

Carlos Russi

[typhlonectes]

Lesser Long-nose Bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuena)

With tongues as long as their bodies, these pollinators are able to sip on the nectar of cacti and agave flowers.

These desert nectar-feeding bats are true heroes in maintaining fragile desert ecosystems in the southwestern United States and Mexico. They are the primary night pollinators of both the organ pipe and saguaro cactus. In turn, growing up to 50 feet in height, the cacti provide important nesting and perching sites for a variety of birds, such as red-tailed hawks, elf owls, Gila woodpeckers, and gilded flickers.

The National Park Service promotes bat conservation through research, educational projects, and working with multiple private, non-profit, and federal and state agency partners. 

Next time you see beautiful saguaro blooms or fruit this summer, make sure to thank a bat!

NPS Photos

via:  Saguaro National Park (Arizona)

[tenth-sentence]

Bats have been seen wandering by day far over the Atlantic Ocean; and two North American species either regularly or occasionally visit Bermuda, at the distance of 600 miles from the mainland.

"On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life" - Charles Darwin

[frogteethblogteeth]

Marion Manola as “Bats and Rats.” Issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. Lithography by Knapp & Company, 1889

[lichenlad]

Bat Fashion:

Frosted tips

image credit: Merlin Tuttle

[loveisinthebat]

little Fluffy Baby

[timmurleyart]

Sumi-e kiwi bats. 🥝🦇

[travelella]

Congress Bridge Bats, Austin, Texas, USA

Mitchell Kmetz

[mammalianmammals]

Lesser Long-nosed Bats (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) feeding at a hummingbird feeder, family Phyllostomidae, SE Arizona, USA

photograph by Richard Spitzer

[lizardsaredinosaurs]

Northern Myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) AKA Northern Long-Eared Bat

East & Midwest USA and Canada

Status: Near Threatened

Threats: Disease, Pesticides, Human disturbance