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Macrotus californicus
California leaf-nosed bat


By Sarah Abbott

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Phyllostomidae
Genus: Macrotus
Species: Macrotus californicus

Geographic Range

The California leaf-nosed bat, the most northern member of the Phyllostomidae, lives in Northen Mexico, Baja California, southern Arizona, southern California and southern Nevada (Constantine 1998).

Biogeographic Regions
nearctic (Native )

Habitat

This species can be found in the caves and abandoned mines in deserts of South West North America. In the winter, they choose roosts that are geothermically heated (Tuttle 1998).

Terrestrial Biomes
desert or dune ; chaparral

Physical Description

Average mass
8-17 g
( oz)

Average mass
11.7 g
(0.41 oz)
[External Source: AnAge]

Average wingspan
33-35 cm
( in)

Average basal metabolic rate
0.082 W
[External Source: AnAge]

The Macrotus californicus has short broad wings and huge ears and eyes (Tuttle 1998). It's skull has no post orbital processes and a complete premaxillae.

Reproduction

During the summer, most males form separate colonies close to female groups of around 100-500 members. However, a handful of dominant males stay within the female colony and have harem groups consisting of 5-25 females and young (Tuttle 1998).

Mating System
polygynous

Breeding season
Mating takes place in the fall, birth in the spring

Range number of offspring
1 to 2

Average number of offspring
1

Average number of offspring
1
[External Source: AnAge]

Average gestation period
8 months

Average gestation period
270 days
[External Source: AnAge]

Average time to weaning
1 months

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
6 months

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female

120 days
[External Source: AnAge]

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
12 months

Mating takes place in the fall. For the first several months of gestation, the embryo develops extremely slowly. Development speeds up in the spring, and young are born in June. (Tuttle 1998).

Key Reproductive Features
iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); viviparous

Infants are born with open eyes and ears and a full coat of fur. Infants nurse for one month. While females become sexually mature their first fall, males take a full year to reach sexual maturity (Harris 1999).

Parental Investment
female parental care

Lifespan/Longevity

Average lifespan
Status: wild

10.4 years
[External Source: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research]

Behavior

These bats have year long activity and do not migrate or hibernate. Members of this species are nocturnal, generally emerging 90-120 minutes after sunset during the summer, returning to their roost approximately one hour before sunrise (Harris 1999).

Key Behaviors
nocturnal ; social ; colonial

Food Habits

M. californicus is an insectivore. It uses its unuusal hovering ability to capture insects from the ground instead of from the air. It also uses its keen sense of vision over echolocation whenever light is adequate (Bell 1986). They feed up to 1.3km from their roost (Harris 1999).

Foods eaten include: crickets, moths, beetles, and grasshoppers, cicadas and caterpillars.

Animal Foods
insects

Ecosystem Roles

M. californicus plays an important role in insect control.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

M. californicus, an insectivorous bat, helps to control pest populations.

Positive Impacts
controls pest population

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List [Link]
Vulnerable

US Federal List [Link]
No special status

CITES [Link]
No special status

Populations of this species are definitely decreasing. Human disturbances in caves and the reestablishment of mines is driving these animals out of their homes.

Temperate North American bats are now threatened by a fungal disease called “white-nose syndrome.” This disease has devastated eastern North American bat populations at hibernation sites since 2007. The fungus, Geomyces destructans, grows best in cold, humid conditions that are typical of many bat hibernacula. The fungus grows on, and in some cases invades, the bodies of hibernating bats and seems to result in disturbance from hibernation, causing a debilitating loss of important metabolic resources and mass deaths. Mortality rates at some hibernation sites have been as high as 90%. While there are currently no reports of Macrotus californicus mortalities as a result of white-nose syndrome, the disease continues to expand its range in North America. (Cryan, 2010; National Park Service, Wildlife Health Center, 2010)

For More Information

Find Macrotus californicus information at

Contributors

Sarah Abbott (author), University of Michigan, Ondrej Podlaha (editor), University of Michigan.

References

Bell, Gary P., February 1986. Visual Acuity Sensitivity and Binocularity in a Gleaning Insectivouous Bat Macrotus californicus Chiroptera Phyllostomidae. Animal Behaviour, 34: 409-414.

Constantine, D. August 1998. Range Extensions of Ten Species of Bats in California. Bulletin Southern California Academy of Sciences, 97: 49-75.

Cryan, P. 2010. "White-nose syndrome threatens the survival of hibernating bats in North America" (On-line). U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center. Accessed September 16, 2010 at http://www.fort.usgs.gov/WNS/.

Harris, J. 1999. "California Leaf-Nosed Bat" (On-line). Accessed October 11,2001 at http://www.sibr.com/mammals/M019.html.

National Park Service, Wildlife Health Center, 2010. "White-nose syndrome" (On-line). National Park Service, Wildlife Health. Accessed September 16, 2010 at http://www.nature.nps.gov/biology/wildlifehealth/White_Nose_Syndrome.cfm.

Tuttle, Merlin, Winter 1998. "The California Leaf-nosed Bat, Sophisticated Desert Survivor" (On-line). Accessed October 11, 2001 at http://www.batcon.org/batsmag/v16n4-3.html.

To cite this page: Abbott, S. 2002. "Macrotus californicus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 12, 2012 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Macrotus_californicus.html

Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.

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