256.

Seminole Bat

Lasiurus seminolus

French: Lasiure séminole / German: Sudstaaten-Haarschwanzfledermaus / Spanish: Lasiuro seminola

Other common names: Mahogany Bat

Taxonomy. Atalapha borealis seminola Rhoads, 1895,

“Tarpon Springs, Hernando Co[unty]., Florida,” USA.

See L. egregius . Lasiurus seminolus was previously included in L. borealis and later considered a distinct species based on allozymes and restriction-enzyme analysis of mtDNA. Lasiurus seminolus is in the Red Bat group. Monotypic.

Distribution. EC, SC & SE USA (from SE Oklahoma and SE Virginia S to C & E Texas and Florida), with extralimital records from New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, S Oklahoma, and S Texas.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 47-73 mm, tail 35-50 mm, ear 11-14 mm, hindfoot 8-9 mm, forearm 39-47 mm; weight 7-13- 8 g. Females are slightly larger than males. Dorsal fur is mahogany-brown, with whitish tips. Ventral furis paler than dorsum. Facial fur is paler and yellowish white. Throat and chest regions are whitish, sometimes similar to faint collar. There are whitish patches over shoulders and thumbs. Ears are short and rounded, with yellowish white fur on bases. Tragus is short and tapers to rounded tip. Uropatagium is entirely furred, with denser fur on proximal region. Forearm skin is brown, and wing membranes skin is blackish. Braincase is large, tapering slightly into robust rostrum. Nasal and palatal emargination is broad and shallow. P? is much smaller than P* and displaced to lingual side of tooth row; M? is much smaller than M' and M?; and cusps are tall and sharp. Dental formulais 11/3, C 1/1, P 2/2, M 3/3 (x2) = 32. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 28 and FN = 48, with moderately large submetacentric X-chromosome and minute Y-chromosome.

Habitat. Typically wooded habitats such as mixed deciduous and pine forests, uplands, islands, prairies, shrub swamps, black gum ( Nyssa sylvatica, Nyssaceae) forest, pure bay forest, pure cypress and mixed cypress forest, pine flatwoods, scrubby flatwoods, hammocks, lowland forests, river swamps, pine-oak and longleaf pine forests, over streams and ponds,at elevations generally below 500 m.

Food and Feeding. Flight of the Seminole Bat is direct and swift. It captures insects in flight, but some flightless prey occurs in diet. Foraging occurs mostly at treetop level at ¢. 6-15 m; it also forages over ponds and streams, nearlights, in clearings and pine barrens, over prairies, and along forest edges. Diet includes moths,flies, beetles, dragonflies, bees, wasps, and crickets. Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and Homoptera were most abundant by volume in fecal samples; Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, and Trichoptera were also found but in smaller proportions. In Florida, diet shifted during the year: 90% Odonata and 10% Coleoptera in July and 90% Coleoptera and 10% Hymenoptera in August.

Breeding. Seminole Bats mate in autumn. Females have 1-4 young (average 3:3) each breeding season. Gestation lasts 80-90 days, and births occur from late May to early July. Pregnant females were caught from early May to mid-June and lactating females from earlyJune to earlyJuly.

Activity patterns. The Seminole Bat starts flying at dusk. Temperature has a great influence on whetherit leaves the roost or not. In general, temperatures below 21°C seem to be inadequate to leave roosts; however, increased relative humidity can promote better flying conditions. Different reports state that, in general, a temperature of 18°C is the minimum for Seminole Bats to fly. Individuals were seen flying at 20°C and relative humidity of 38%. They do not hibernate but can become torpid; they can be seen flying throughout the year. Individuals have been spotted in warm winter days, especially in southern parts of the distribution. Roosts have been found mainly in clumps of Spanish moss (7 Tillandsia usneoides, Bromeliaceae) but also leaves, loose bark, and sometimes caves. Roosts are located 1-1-6- 1 m aboveground on south west side of trees and with clear spaces below the hanging area to facilitate a drop down to begin flight. Roost trees are tall and usually near forest edges. Echolocation calls last ¢.7-1 milliseconds, with narrowband and single harmonic. Frequencies sweep down from c.54-4 kHz to ¢.36-8 kHz, with frequency of maximum energy at 40-1 kHz.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Seminole Bats usually roost alone, and rarely more than two individuals are found in the same roost. They migrate to southern parts of their distribution in winter, where they are considered one of the most abundant bat species. During migration, they have been observedjoining migrating bird groups, but no studies have determined how they navigate during migration.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Seminole Bat is widespread and presumably has a large population.

Bibliography. Alvarez-Castaneda & Gonzalez-Ruiz (2018), Baird et al. (2015), Baker & Mascarello (1969), Barbour & Davis (1969), Bickham (1987), Carter et al. (2004), Collen (2012), Constantine (1958), Laerm et al. (1999), Neuweiler (2000), Novaes, Garbino et al. (2018), Simmons (2005), Solari (2019b), Walker (2002), Wilkins (1987), Wilson & Ruff (1999).