Little brown myotis, Little brown bat, Little brown myotis
The little brown bat or little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus ) is an endangered species of mouse-eared microbat found in North America. It has a small body size and glossy brown fur. It is similar in appearance to several other mouse-eared bats, including the Indiana bat, northern long-eared bat, and Arizona myotis, to which it is closely related. Despite its name, the little brown bat is not closely related to the big brown bat, which belongs to a different genus.
Its mating system is polygynandrous, or promiscuous, and females give birth to one offspring annually. The offspring, called pups, are quickly weaned and reach adult size in some dimensions by three weeks old. The little brown bat has a mean lifespan of 6.5 years, though one individual in the wild reached 34 years old. It is nocturnal, foraging for its insect prey at night and roosting in hollow trees or buildings during the day, among less common roost types. It navigates and locates prey with echolocation.
It has few natural predators, but may be killed by raptors such as owls, as well as terrestrial predators such as raccoons. Other sources of mortality include diseases such as rabies and white-nose syndrome. White-nose syndrome has been a significant cause of mortality since 2006, killing over one million little brown bats by 2011. In the Northeastern United States, population loss has been extreme, with surveyed hibernacula (caves used for hibernation) averaging a population loss of 90%.
Humans frequently encounter the little brown bat due to its habit of roosting in buildings. Colonies in buildings are often considered pests because of the production of waste or the concern of rabies transmission. Little brown bats rarely test positive for rabies, however. Some people attempt to attract little brown bats to their property, but not their houses, by installing bat houses.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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TorporTorpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
Torpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables...
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PolygynandryPolygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season.
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FlockingFlocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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ColonialColonial animals live in large aggregations composed of two or more conspecific individuals in close association with or connected to, one another....
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HibernatingHibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy charac...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe Little brown bat has small ears that do not reach the nose when pointing forward. The animal has blunt, medium-high tragus. The hind feet are large, covered with hairs, extending past the toes. Meanwhile, front and hind limbs have 5 metapodials. The glossy fur of the animal generally ranges in color from dark brown, golden brown and reddish to olive brown. However, there have also been known albino individuals among this species. The ventral side of the little brown bat is lighter. The animal has dark brown or black, almost hairless wing and interfemoral membranes. Males are smaller than females, which is most prominent during the winter months.
The Little brown bat is distributed across a vast territory, including Alaska, Canada and the USA, from the Pacific to Atlantic coasts. These bats also inhabit some forested areas of Mexico, found at high elevations. They usually occur in forests, living along lakes and rivers. Little brown bats use buildings, where they gather into nursery colonies. During the winter months, the animals hibernate, usually in caves or mines.
The Little brown bats are nocturnal. They typically enter torpor by day, appearing from their roosts at dusk. While at roosts, the bats are not territorial, living in large colonies of up to 300,000 individuals in one roost. These animals have two peak periods of activity: one takes place approximately 2 - 3 hours after dusk and the other occurs before down. They generally come back to their roosts at around 4 - 5 o'clock in the morning. During the winter months, they undergo hibernation, which varies in time, depending on location and altitude of a given roost. Usually, they enter hibernation between September and November, coming out between March and May. Meanwhile, young bats enter hibernation quite late, since they need to store fat, which will help them survive during the winter. In addition, pups do not travel long distances to hibernation roosts. The little brown bats travel not more than 100 miles.
The Little brown bats are insectivores, they feed upon a wide variety of insects, including hoppers, mosquitoes, midges, caddisflies, moths, small beetles and, occasionally, spiders.
Little brown bats have polygynandrous mating system. They have two phases of mating, during which males mate with a number of females; the active phase, when both mates are awake and alert, and the passive phase, when active males mate with torpid bats of both sexes. They mate between September and October, while ovulation and fertilization takes place in spring. After 50-60 days of gestation, the female yields a single pup. The female is able to distinguish its offspring from other pups due to identifying call and odor. The baby is nursed by its mother, feeding exclusively upon maternal milk for the first 18 - 21 days and being weaned at the age of 3 weeks. Then, at about 4 weeks old, the pup begins to fly, becoming independent. Female bats first give birth within the first or second year of their lives.
Little brown bats are threatened with loss and fragmentation of their natural habitat as a result of deforestation. Presently, the animals suffer from a fungal disease known as “white-nose syndrome". Cold and humid environment of their hibernaculas provides ideal conditions for fungus growth, which occasionally invades the bodies of hibernating bats, leading to debilitation and high numbers (up to 90%) of mortality. The animals are also exposed to human disturbance. Other notable concerns include use of pesticides and use of cyanide in mining.
The Little brown bat is widespread across its range, but the overall number of their population is currently unknown. On the IUCN Red List, the Little brown bat is classified as Least Concern (LC) with a stable population trend.
Little brown bats play a significant role in the local ecosystem, controlling populations of insects. Moreover, they hugely contribute to pollinization and serve as seed dispersers of a wide variety of plant species.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...