Spotted bat
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| Euderma maculatum Allen 1891 |
The Spotted bat (Euderma maculatum), also known as the Jackass bat, is a rare mammal from the family of Vesper bats.
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[edit] Description
The spotted bat was first described by zoologist Joel Asaph Allen from the American Museum of Natural History in 1891. It can reach a length of 12 cm and a wingspan of 35 cm. The weight is about 15 g. It has three distinctive white spots on its black back. With ears that can grow up to 4 cm, it is said to have the largest ears of any bat species in North America. The spotted bat's mating season is in autumn and the females produce their offspring (usually one juvenile) in June or July. Their main diet is grasshoppers and moths.
[edit] Habitat
The habitats of the spotted bat are undisturbed roosts on cliffs along the Grand Canyon in Arizona, as well as open and dense deciduous and coniferous forests, hay fields, deserts, marshes, riparian areas and dry shrub-steppe grasslands in California, Colorado, Utah, and British Columbia, Canada.
[edit] Threats
Use of pesticides such as DDT and other insecticides in the 1960s has led to a severe decline in the spotted bat population, and it is now one of the rarest bats in North America. Another reason for its rarity is its strongly fragmented habitat and its high adaptivity to roost places. A large part of its range remains unknown.
