March 27th Eastern tube-nosed bat (Nyctimene robinsoni)

Diet: Fruit
Range: North East Australia
Conservation Status: Least Concern

Found throughout the east coast of Australia it’s not hard to identify the Eastern tube-nosed bat with it’s titular “tubed nose” and bright yellow spots. They inhabit tropical and subtropical forest as well as “Sclerophyll” landscapes found in Australia. One fun fact is that the nostrils on these bats move independently of each other to provide a kind of “stereo smell” allowing them to find ripe fruit.

February 12th: The Oldest Fossil of a Bat (Onychonycteris finneryi)

Diet: Unknown (Predicted Fruit)
Range: Found In Wyoming
Conservation Status: Extinct

Happy Charles Darwin Day! To celebrate evolution we are looking at the oldest bat fossil found to date at 52 Million years old. Onychonycteris fossils have been studied and provide evidence that bats developed flight before echolocation and existed more like modern-day fruit bats before splitting into the numerous species we have today.

February 6th: Sooty mustached bat (Pteronotus quadridens)

Diet: Insects
Range: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico
Conservation Status: Vulnerable

With a name like that, how do you not cover “Sooty’s Mustached Bat”. named after the fleshy growth around their mouths. Another interesting fact about these bats is they change color over the course of their lives, starting as a dark grey and brown, transitioning to a more yellowish color and later an orange coat! What causes this color change? Ammonia builds up from the urine in their roost and leads to a kind of bleaching of their natural coat

February 4th: Chapin’s free-tailed bat (Chaerephon chapini)

Diet: Insects
Range: Central and Southern Africa
Conservation Status: Least Concern

Happy Liberace Day!

The longer you stare the more powerful he becomes

To celebrate someone so fashionable I picked the equally striking Chapin’s free-tailed bat. Obviously, the first thing you noticed was the big tuft of colored hair. This tuft is three times larger in males and is thought to be used to hold and disperse scents to attract females. It’s a great example of ornamentation for sexual selection, something not often seen in bats.

February 2nd: Yuma Myotis (Myotis yumanensis)

Diet: Insects
Range: Western North America
Conservation Status: Least Concern

This is bat is your general myotis, little brown/grey/black colored fuzzy screechy sky vacuum. Named after the town of Yuma in Arizon of “3:10 To Yuma fame where these bats were first discovered. They prefer to hang out around lakes and other sources of open water where insects breed. that way when the new insects emerge from the lakes and ponds yuma myotis are ready to eat!

January 29th: Hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus)

Diet: Insects
Range: Most of North and South America
Conservation Status: Least Concern

Despite living in Hawaii, North East Canada, and everywhere in between it is unlikely you would ever find a live Hoary bat. These beautiful creatures prefer to hide out in the forest on trees rather than inside peoples homes. The word Hoary means greyish white and looking at the tips of the fur you can see it is a fitting name.

Frosted Tips, Who Wore It Better?

These bats have a complex lifestyle with using both migration and hibernation to survive different climates. Sadly migrating bats have been victims to an unexpected predator. Echolocation does not work so well on large, fast-moving metal objects. Regrettably, it is thought that bats migrating through wind farms are struck by the turbines in large numbers with approximately 100,000 hoary bats killed each year. new problems require new solutions so I look forward to seeing what humanity comes up with!

January 28th: Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii)

Diet: Insects (Butterflies and Moths)
Range: Western half of North America
Conservation Status: Least Concern

The Townsend’s big-eared bat certainly earns its name! Apparently those ears are really good for helping them catch moths as that is the primary Diet of the C.townsendi. During the summer the males of this species strike out solo while the females form maternity colonies that have been known to reach over 1000 bats. Most interestingly beyond aiding in hearing, the large ears are thought to contribute to their lift while flying.

January 27th: Mehely’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus mehelyi)

Diet: Insects
Range: Eastern Europe and Middle East
Conservation Status: Vulnerable

I didn’t want to miss Europe while looking at endangered bats! Although they don’t have the same diversity as the tropics Europe has a community facing similar challenges. Mehely’s horseshoe bat has that signature sonar dish nose and it turns out it’s not just using their vocalizations for food. It’s been shown that males with higher pitch calls attract more females. These ladies like a guy who can sing!

January 26th: Seychelles Sheath-tailed Bat (Coleura seychellensis)

Diet: Insects
Range: Seychelles Islands
Conservation Status: Critically Endangered

Down to ~50 individuals, the Seychelles Sheath-Tailed bat may not be around for too long. Their forest habitat has been destroyed for plantations that do not support the insect population these bats need. Once when they were abundant these bats acted like fighter pilots using their back leg membrane to maneuver deftly through the air.

January 25th: Livingstone’s fruit bat (Pteropus livingstonii)

Diet: Fruits (figs)
Range: Anjouan and Moheli Islands
Conservation Status: Critically Endangered

Another fruit bat, living the in the mountains, on an island, struggling with the threat of extinction. Unlike the rarer Fijian Monkey-Faced bat, however, Livingstone’s Fruit bat is well studied. It is believed they are only 21 roost-sites have been found between the two islands, with a population of 1,200 remaining today. They often use their size to control the upper canopy of the forest, primarily roosting their favorite native trees that are also at risk of habitat loss.