Species: Myotis californicus

Californian Myotis
Species

    Articles:

    California Myotis (Myotis californicus)

    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

    Myotis

    Classification
    Other Global Common Names
    California Bat - California Myotis - Californian Bat - Un Murciélago - chauve-souris de Californie
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Bats
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Chiroptera - Vespertilionidae - Myotis - See Bogan (1975) for information on geographic variation and subspecies in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. Simmons (in Wilslon and Reeder 2005) stated that subspecies are poorly delimited.
    Migration
    false - false - false
    Non-migrant
    false
    Locally Migrant
    false
    Food Comments
    Insectivorous. Forages with a slow erratic flight pattern within approximately 5-10 feet of the ground. Forages along margins of tree clumps, around edge of tree canopy, over water, and well above ground in open country (see Simpson 1993).
    Reproduction Comments
    Breeds in late fall in most of range, or early spring in California. Females give birth to single young, late May to mid-June (Barbour and Davis 1969), in July in Canada (Banfield 1974; van Zyll de Jong 1985). In southwestern California, no pregnant females were found after mid-June. One young per year. Potential reproductive lifespan of 15 years. Colonies usually are small, up to about 25 individuals.
    Ecology Comments
    In summer, roosts alone or in small groups (Simpson 1993).
    Length
    9
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    1996-11-05
    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.BC=S4&US.AK=S2&US.AZ=S4&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S3&US.ID=S2&US.MT=S4&US.NN=S5&US.NV=S4&US.NM=S5&US.OR=S3&US.TX=S4&US.UT=S3&US.WA=S3" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    Range includes western North America, from extreme southern Alaska south through British Columbia and the western United States to southern Baja California and Guatemala (Koopman, in Wilson and Reeder 1993). In the United States, this species occurs throughout the desert Southwest, and in lowlands to Montana, Utah, and Colorado. Winter range includes California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Texas; full extent of winter range is not known (Barbour and Davis 1969). Elevational range extends up to 6,000 feet (1,830 meters).
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104207