The hoary bat (''Lasiurus cinereus'') is a species of bat in the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae. It lives throughout most of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

(possibly including Hawaii, although this is disputed).

Taxonomy

The hoary bat was described as a new species in 1796 by Palisot de Beauvois. Beauvois noted that the holotype was collected in the US state of Pennsylvania by an individual identified as "Master Pancake". It has many taxonomic synonyms, including ''Vespertilio pruinosis'' ( Say, 1823) and ''Atalpha mexicana'' ( Saussure, 1861). Mammalogist Harrison Allen was the first to use its current name combination of ''Lasiurus cinereus'', doing so in 1864. In a later publication, Allen placed it in the now-defunct genus ''Atalapha'', with a scientific name of ''Atalpha cinerea''. The

South American hoary bat The South American hoary bat (''Aeorestes villosissimus'') is a species of vesper bat found in South America. Taxonomy Prior to 2015, the South American hoary bat was recognized as a subspecies of the hoary bat, ''A. cinereus.'' Range The South ...

(''L. villosissimus''), which is found throughout South America, and the Hawaiian hoary bat (''L. semotus''), which is endemic to Hawaii, were both previously classified under the hoary bat, but phylogenetic evidence supports them being distinct species. Some have argued to elevate the subgenus (Aeorestes) to a genus level classification for ''L. cinereus.'' However, this has not been accepted by taxonomic authorities as it violates the International Code of Zoologigal Nomenclature

Distribution

It ranges throughout

, from northern Canada south to

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. Although the Hawaiian subspecies ''L. semotus'' was reclassified into a distinct species, studies in 2015 and 2017 found evidence supporting two different colonization events of Hawaii by ''Lasiurus'' species; one about 1.4 million years ago by the ancestors of ''L. semotus'', but also a much more recent colonization by true ''L. cinereus''. This would mean that ''L. cinereus'' also inhabits the Hawaiian islands, in

cryptic Cryptic may refer to: In science: * Cryptic species complex, a group of species that are very difficult to distinguish from one another * Crypsis, the ability of animals to blend in to avoid observation * Cryptic era, earliest period of the Earth ...

sympatry In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

with ''L. semotus''. However, in contrast, a 2020 genetic study found no evidence of multiple bat species on Hawaii, finding the islands to only be inhabited by a single species, ''L. semotus'', and attributed the previous results as a consequence of incomplete lineage sorting.

Description

The hoary bat averages long with a wingspan and a weight of . It is the largest bat normally found in Canada. Its

coat A coat typically is an outer garment for the upper body as worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a ...

is dense and dark brown, with white tips to the hairs that give the species its 'hoary' appearance for which it is named. The body is covered in fur except for the undersides of the wings. Males and females are dimorphic in body mass, with females 40% heavier than males.

Behavior

The bat normally roosts alone on trees, hidden in the foliage, but on occasion has been seen in caves with other bats. It prefers woodland, mainly coniferous forests, but hunts over open areas or lakes. It hunts alone and its main food source is moths. The bats can cover an impressive while foraging. Hoary bats are long-distance migrants, spending the winter in Central America and the southwestern United States and the spring and summer in more northern latitudes in the United States and Canada.

Reproduction

The reproductive cycle of the hoary bat is not yet fully documented, but it is thought that they mate in August with birth occurring in June of the following year. It is thought that the

gestation period In mammals, pregnancy is the period of reproduction during which a female carries one or more live offspring from implantation in the uterus through gestation. It begins when a fertilized zygote implants in the female's uterus, and ends once it ...

is only 40 days and that

mammalian embryonic diapause Embryonic diapause (from late 19th century English: dia- ‘through’ + pause- 'delay') (aka delayed implantation in mammals) is an evolutionary reproductive strategy used by several animal species across a number of kingdoms, including approximat ...

(delayed implantation) may play a role. Females typically bear twins, though litter sizes range from 1–4. Young are typically weaned after 7 weeks.

Conservation

While not listed as threatened or endangered, hoary bats suffer significant mortality from wind turbines. Across the United States in 2005, 40% of all bats killed by wind turbines were hoary bats—over 1000 hoary bats were killed in 2005. Most bat deaths occur during migration in the spring and fall. One common theory explaining this is that bats are attracted to the tall structure, possibly believing them to be trees that can be used for rest.

References

External links

NatureServe

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Bat Conservation International Species Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q587145 Hoary bat

Hoary {{Short pages monitor