Gray bat: Difference between revisions
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==Endangered status== |
==Endangered status== |
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Although gray bat numbers are still relatively high, their total population has decreased significantly during recent years. The gray bat is thought to have declined mainly due to destruction by [[Vandalism|vandals]] and disturbance by [[spelunkers]] and tourists. The reliance of the species on relatively few hibernacula is also a |
Although gray bat numbers are still relatively high, their total population has decreased significantly during recent years. The gray bat is thought to have declined mainly due to destruction by [[Vandalism|vandals]] and disturbance by [[spelunkers]] and tourists. The reliance of the species on relatively few hibernacula is also a MAJOR reason behind its endangered status. |
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The [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] listed the gray bat as an [[endangered species]] on April 28, 1976. |
The [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] listed the gray bat as an [[endangered species]] on April 28, 1976. |
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*MICHAEL JACKSON* {best entertainer in the world} would have helped the gray bat if he had the chance and was still here with us today! |
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R.I.P. K.O.P. you will forever be missed, but never forgotten. Your music has made a big impact on me, and many, many others and your legacy will live on FOREVER! |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 14:08, 19 March 2010
| Gray Bat | |
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| U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
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| Genus: | |
| Species: | grisescens
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| Binomial name | |
| Myotis grisescens (A. H. Howell, 1909)
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| Approximate range of the gray bat | |
The Gray Bat (Myotis grisescens) is a small bat that lives in caves throughout the southern United States. It usually chooses caves which are located within one mile of a river or reservoir.
Description
The gray bat typically weighs 7-16 grams. Its diet consists predominantly of insects. All species of the genus Myotis, including the gray bat, rest by day and forage at night. They often hunt and feed over water. The feeding flight usually alternate with periods of rest, during which the bats hang to digest their catch. Colonies of the gray bat travel up to 14 km from roosts to foraging areas. The gray bat has a wingspan of about 11-12 inches and is uniformly dark gray, hence its name.
Habitat
Gray bats use warm caves in the summer where they establish maternal and bachelor colonies. Few have been found present outside caves. In the winter they hibernate in a few cold caves.
Range
The range of the endangered gray bat is concentrated in the cave regions of Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama, with occasional colonies and individuals found in adjacent states. The species' present total population is estimated to number over 1,500,000; however, a study in 1982 estimated that about 95 percent of the bats hibernate in only nine caves in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri,Illinois,and Tennessee. Another study published in 1991 indicated the number of important caves to be eight: two in Tennessee; three in Missouri; and one each in Kentucky, Alabama, and Arkansas. The gray bat's range overlaps with that of the Indiana bat, also endangered.
Endangered status
Although gray bat numbers are still relatively high, their total population has decreased significantly during recent years. The gray bat is thought to have declined mainly due to destruction by vandals and disturbance by spelunkers and tourists. The reliance of the species on relatively few hibernacula is also a MAJOR reason behind its endangered status.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the gray bat as an endangered species on April 28, 1976.
- MICHAEL JACKSON* {best entertainer in the world} would have helped the gray bat if he had the chance and was still here with us today!
R.I.P. K.O.P. you will forever be missed, but never forgotten. Your music has made a big impact on me, and many, many others and your legacy will live on FOREVER!