Allen's big-eared bat

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Allen's big-eared bat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Vespertilionidae
Tribe: Plecotini
Genus: Idionycteris
Anthony, 1923
Species:
I. phyllotis
Binomial name
Idionycteris phyllotis

Allen's big-eared bat (Idionycteris phyllotis), also known as the lappet-browed bat, is a species of vesper bat in the monotypic genus Idionycteris. It occurs in Mexico and in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado[2] in the United States.[1]

Description[edit]

Idionycteris phyllotis is a bat with large ears, weighing 8 to 16 grams. On the dorsal side they possess long and soft pelage,[3] (fur). Their fur is basally blackish in color with tips that are a yellow-gray color. They have a black patch on each shoulder, a tuft of white hair on the backside of the ears, as well as ventral hairs that are black with pale tips.[3] The calcar possesses a low keel. The uropatagium has 12 to 13 transverse ribs. The rostrum is flattened and broad.[3] They have distinctive lappets (disc-shaped protrusions), which project from the base of the ears onto the brow of the bat[4].

I. phyllotis has an external morphology common to that of gleaning bats, and are thus well adapted for plucking stationary insects from surfaces.[3] To do this they have long tragi and ears, wings adapted for maneuverability and hovering flight, and a gracile jaw.[3] I. phyllotis) is the only species in North America known to emit long, constant frequency-frequency modulated echolocation calls.[2]

Range and habitat[edit]

Allen’s big-eared bat inhabits the southwestern mountainous regions of Mexico and the United States. This species occupies a wide range in elevation, ranging from 855 m to 3,225 m, though most specimens reside at altitudes between 1,100 m and 2,500 m.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Arroyo-Cabrales, J.; Álvarez-Castañeda, S.T. (2017). "Idionycteris phyllotis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T10790A21990019. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T10790A21990019.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Hayes, Mark A.; Navo, Kirk W.; Bonewell, Lea R.; Mosch, Cyndi J.; Adams, Rick A. (2009). "Allen's big-eared bat (Idionycteris phyllotis) documented in Colorado based on recordings of its distinctive echolocation call". The Southwestern Naturalist. 54 (4): 499–501. doi:10.1894/JKF-01.1.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Czaplewski, Nicholas J. (1983-12-15). "Idionycteris phyllotis". Mammalian Species (208): 1–4. doi:10.2307/3503999. ISSN 0076-3519. JSTOR 3503999.
  4. ^ "Allen's Big-eared Bat". Bat Conservation International. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
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