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Silver-haired bat

Lasionycteris noctivagans

Photo by KarenL
Published on Project Noah
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47.3333, -79.4333

Field Notes

Description:

We found this little guy lying immobile in a bowl of soapy water we had been using to wash the car. We though he was dead at first but I was able to very gently clean him & warm him up. Once he started to show signs of life he clung to my wrist for a couple of hours (presumably he liked the warmth) & we were finally able to release him. Not sure of the species.

Reference Links:

Species Profiles

Species ID Suggestions

Brown Bat

Myotis lucifugus
DannyWeiner
1

Comments (23)
KarenL
Added to North American bat tracker mission. I obviously should have worn latex gloves before handling the bat but was unaware of that at the time.
Smith Zoo
Jip, this one is scary enough for Halloween!
KarenL
I've updated the identity!
KarenL
Thanks JT! Unfortunately I can't recall many details - this was pre Noah! Looking at the link you gave me, facially it does look like a silver-haired & I would say the coloring was silvery black rather than brown. It was also found right at the edge of the range indicated on the link so I'm thinking you are probably right.
J.T.Layne
Interesting story Karen, glad you were able to rescue it. Can you remember if there was fur on at least 1/3 of its tail wing (skin between it's back legs)? Little browns do not have any fur on its tail wing, and the general size and shape of its face has me thinking that this is possibly a Silver-haired bat. As opposed to the chocolate brown color of little browns, silver-haired bats are usually black with white "frosted" tips on their back. http://www.batcon.org/index.php/all-about-bats/species-profiles.html?task=detail&species=2160&country=43&state=28&family=all&limitstart=0
KarenL
Gabi - I've just noticed it's scientific name does look a bit like 'lucifer' too!
KarenL
Gabi, he certainly has an impressive set of teeth for an insectivore! IgCN, not too good at the moment as I'm broke! I've been living off my savings for the past couple of years while my green card application has been going through. Hopefully my house in England will sell soon & we can start traveling again! Costa Rice & Ecuador/Galapagos are top of my list! :)
LarryGraziano
great story and great sighting Karen! how are the CR plans going?
KarenL
It's a bat but I have no idea what kind.
KarenL
Of course it was only afterwards I thought about rabies!
Aman
2 hours! So cool!
Dan Doucette
Wow, Really small. Nice watch too, is that a Swatch?

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Bat Monitoring Project
Mission
Global Flight
Photos for Conservation
Mission
North American Bat Tracker

Tags

Photographed
PublishedAugust 18, 2011

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