Summary ²

The hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) is a species of bat in the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae. It is found throughout most of North America and much of South America (fig. 3). The hoary bat averages 5"-5.7" in length, and 15.7" in wingspan. It roosts most frequently alone in trees, hidden in the foliage. It hunts alone at night in open areas where it can find its main food source, moths. Pelage overall is frosted or hoary (mixed brownish and grayish with white-tipped hairs, wrist and shoulder patches whitish), yellowish on the throat. Ears are short and rounded, rimmed in dark brown or black, tragus (fleshy covering over opening of ear) short and broad (figure 1 and 2). Its average call is at 23kHz, which is lower than many bat species in the area. It is hard to distinguish this bat and other bat species in the area unless captured. If captured compare to picture above to identify whether or not it is a hoary bat. This bat can be found in Iron County, UT.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Zachary Eric Mathews, all rights reserved, uploaded by Zachary Eric Mathews
2. (c) Zachary Eric Mathews, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• AMNH Bats of the World
• Animal Diversity Web
• ASM Mammal Diversity Database
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CalPhotos
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• iNaturalist Mammal Working Group
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• NBN Atlas
• VertNet

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