Species: Lasionycteris noctivagans

Silver-haired Bat
Species

    Articles:

    Silver-haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans)

    This article originally appeared in the State of Washington Bat Conservation Plan. Further information is available from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

    Image copyright Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation International, www.batcon.org
    Report: Washington State Bat Conservation Plan

    The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recently released a Bat Conservation Plan for the 15 species of bats found in Washington State. All but four of these species occur within the greater Puget Sound watershed1, including:

    Fringed Myotis. Photo © Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation International, www.batcon.org
    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Mammalia

    Order

    Chiroptera

    Family

    Vespertilionidae

    Genus

    Lasionycteris

    Classification
    Other Global Common Names
    Un Murciélago - chauve-souris argentée
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Bats
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Chiroptera - Vespertilionidae - Lasionycteris - No subspecies are recognized.
    Short General Description
    A medium-sized, silver-haired bat.
    Migration
    false - false - false - Generally migrates south for winter; see Cryan (2003) for monthly distribution based on museum records. Found only during spring and fall migration over major part of range. Migrates along southern shore of Lake Manitoba in waves in May and early June (Barclay et al. 1988).
    Non-migrant
    false
    Locally Migrant
    false
    Food Comments
    Forages for small to medium-size flying insects over small water bodies within forested areas.
    Reproduction Comments
    Breeds in late September. Fertilization is delayed until spring. Gestation lasts 50-60 days. Litter of 1-2 young is born in June-July, sometimes later in north. Sexually mature in first summer. Able to fly at about 3 weeks. Maternity colonies are small (Parsons et al. 1986).
    Ecology Comments
    Densities probably low. Usually roosts singly, but occasionally in groups of up to 3-6 (Barclay et al. 1988).
    Length
    11
    Weight
    15
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    2008-01-04
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-11-05
    Other Status

    LC - Least concern

    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=S3&CA.BC=S4&CA.MB=S3&CA.NB=S1&CA.NT=__&CA.NS=S1&CA.ON=S4&CA.QC=S3&CA.SK=S5&US.AL=__&US.AK=S2&US.AZ=S3&US.AR=S3&US.CA=S3&US.CO=S5&US.CT=__&US.DE=SU&US.DC=__&US.FL=SNR&US.GA=S5&US.ID=S4&US.IL=S3&US.IN=__&US.IA=S4&US.KS=__&US.KY=__&US.LA=S1&US.ME=SU&US.MD=__&US.MA=S3&US.MI=S4&US.MN=SNR&US.MO=SNR&US.MT=S4&US.NN=S3&US.NE=S5&US.NV=S3&US.NH=S3&US.NJ=SU&US.NM=S5&US.NY=S4&US.NC=S4&US.ND=SNR&US.OH=SNR&US.OK=S2&US.OR=S3&US.PA=SU&US.RI=SU&US.SC=SNR&US.SD=S4&US.TN=S4&US.TX=S4&US.UT=S4&US.VT=S2&US.VA=SU&US.WA=S3&US.WV=S2&US.WI=S3&US.WY=S3" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - Range extends from southeastern Alaska and much of western Canada south of the Northwest Territories south to central California, northern Mexico, and east through Georgia (Yates et al. 1976, Hall 1981). The species is known also from Bermuda. It winters in the Pacific Northwest, in scattered areas of the southwestern United States, and at middle latitudes of the eastern United States approximately south of Michigan and east of the Mississippi River (Cryan 2003). Males seem to stay farther south in spring and summer than do females, except for populations in British Columbia that do not appear to migrate (Cryan 2003).
    Global Range Code
    H
    Global Range Description
    >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104362