The cave myotis (''Myotis velifer'') is a species of

vesper bat Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat famili ...

(''Vespertilionidae'') in the genus ''

Myotis The mouse-eared bats or myotises are a diverse and widespread genus (''Myotis'') of bats within the family Vespertilionidae. The noun "''myotis''" itself is a Neo-Latin construction, from the Greek "''muós'' (meaning "mouse") and "''oûs''" ( ...

''.

Description

It is larger than most other bats in the ''Myotis'' group, with a forearm of . The bat is brown with short ears, and can be distinguished from other large ''Myotis'' by a bare patch of skin on its back. Male bats are smaller than females.

Distribution and habitat

It is usually found in caves, although it has been known to inhabit mines and buildings. The largest populations are in southwest

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Groups of over a thousand have been recorded on the ceilings of caves during winter hibernation.

Diet and behavior

The cave myotis is

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

, primarily feeding on moths. To capture prey it uses echolocation, typically hunting one or two hours after sunset. Due to their larger size and well-adapted wings, the cave myotis may forage further from their roost than other "myotis" bats. When insect populations are low in spring and autumn, they decrease their food consumption. Since caves tend to have consistently cooler temperatures which impose energetic strain from maintaining thermoregulation, it is believed that they likely exhibit a combination of behaviors in response, such as consuming greater quantities of food and clustering in order to minimize heat loss. Adult females consume more food than males due to their size. Females also consume more food during

lactation Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The process ...

and

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...

periods. Juveniles are efficient at foraging; they join their adult counterparts aged as young as four weeks. By six to eight weeks, their daily consumption of insects matches that of an adult. Colonies hibernate from mid October until April. Individuals have lifespan of around thirteen years.

Homing

Most bat species have a good homing ability, the mechanisms of which are still unknown. Unusually for bats, the cave myotis does not have a good homing instinct. Speculation is that bat species' homing ability relies heavily on

olfactory sense The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste. In humans, it ...

and vision.E. Lendell Cockrum (1956). ''Journal of Mammalogy'', Vol. 37, 1: 48–50.

References

{{Authority control Mouse-eared bats Mammals described in 1890 Bats of Mexico Bats of the United States Taxonomy articles created by Polbot