Silver-haired bat
The silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) is a species of bat. It is the only member of the genus Lasionycteris.[2]
| Silver-haired bat | |
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| Genus: | Lasionycteris
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| Lasionycteris noctivagans | |
The bat is found in Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. They are the most common bat in forested areas in the United States. Silver-haired bats are also called Silverwings.[3]
Description
Silver-haired bats are nearly black. They have silvery-tipped hairs on their back. It's a medium-sized, heavily furred bat. It weighs around 8-12 grams. Its total length is around 100 mm on average, its tail being 40 mm.[4]
Distribution and Habitat
Silver-haired bat is found in Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It is found from southeastern Alaska in summer to northeastern Mexico in winter.[5] It lives in dry habitats at low elevations during seasonal migrations. They often roost in tree cavities or in bark crevices on tree trunks, especially during migration.[6]
Feeding
Silver-haired bats mainly eat insects with soft bodies, such as moths, but will also eat spiders and harvestmen. It will forage low, over both still and running water, and also in forest openings. Silver-haired bats are slow but can turn quickly. They can use echolocation to find prey that is a short distance away.[7]
In Fiction
Shade is the name of the main character in the novel Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel. He is a young silver-haired bat runt.
References
- ↑ Arroyo-Cabrales J. (2008). "Lasionycteris noctivagans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- ↑ Simmons N.B. (2005), "Order Chiroptera", in Wilson D.E. & Reeder D.M. (ed.), Mammal species of the world (3rd ed.), Johns Hopkins University Press, p. 499, ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0, OCLC 62265494
- ↑ "The silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans)". Organization for Bat Conservation. Archived from the original on 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
- ↑ "Silver-haired Bat". The Mammals of Texas - Online Edition.
- ↑ Cryan, Paul M. (2003). <0579:sdomtb>2.0.co;2 "Seasonal Distribution of Migratory Tree Bats (Lasiurus and Lasionycteris) in North America". Journal of Mammalogy. 84 (2): 579–593. doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2003)084<0579:sdomtb>2.0.co;2. ISSN 0022-2372. S2CID 86335242.
- ↑ "CDC - Bats: Coming in contact with bats - Rabies". www.cdc.gov. 2019-02-22. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
- ↑ Barclay, R.M.R. (1985). Long-versus short-range foraging strategies of hoary (Lasiurus cinereus) and silver-haired (Lasionycteris noctivagans) bats and the consequences for prey selection.