Townsend's Big-eared Bat
Corynorhinus townsendii
Summary 2
Townsend's big-eared bat, (Corynorhinus townsendii) is a species of vesper bat found across the western United States. They have very large ears, are nocturnal, and are extremely sensitive to human activity, and feed on months and are light brown. They live from 400-4,500 feet in elevation and will survive for nearly two dozen years.
Field Identification 3
The Townsend's big-eared bat live solitary lives as males and small colonies of about one dozen as females and young. They have light brown fur that is longer than other species. Their ears are a much darker brown, in some cases nearly black. They do not crawl very well and avoid humans at all costs.
Corynorhinus townsendii have larger ears than all other species found in Utah. Although, Idionycteris phyllotis, have large ears also, Corynorhinus townsendiiare much lighter brown. Antrozous pallidus is similar in coloration but the distinction from Townsend's big-ear bat can be made by the smaller ears, and that Antrozous pallidus will feed on a very broad range of prey items from months, grasshoppers, and scorpions.
Scat, often referred to as guano, will be scattered as they typically drop it during flight. They also drop in their roosts where it can accumulate to a small degree. It will be tubular with irregular, rough surfaces, twisted, and will have pointy ends. Occasionally, guano will be softer.
They do not typically leave tracks as they are either in flight or roosting on a hard surface. The rare tracks from crawling will be 0.45 inches long and 0.25 inches wide. Rear tracks will be much more elongated than front tracks. Each will have 5 toes and one nail at each toe. The toes on the front tracks will be much more spread out than the rear.
Corynorhinus townsendii can be found in Iron County, Utah, USA.
Sources and Credits
- (c) J. N. Stuart, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartwildlife/8047568956/
- Adapted by ajedwards from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corynorhinus_townsendii
- (c) ajedwards, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
