Lasiurus seminolus (Rhodes 1895)

D, K D., L, A M., M, B, B, R J. & A, L K., 2012, N C R 14 B S B S S T D S H S, Occasional Papers of the Museum 315, pp. 1-16 : 6-8

Lasiurus seminolus (Rhodes 1895)

Seminole Bat

A year-long resident of Texas, the Seminole bat has been documented within six ecological regions. The majority of these regions (South Central Plains, Gulf Coast Plains, East Central Great Plains, Blackland Prairies, and Cross Timbers) are found in the eastern part of the state. An exception is a record (ASNHC 10650) at the western edge of Edwards Plateau ( Brant and Dowler 2000) in Val Verde County. The result- ing record was 425 km west of the previous range for the species. The far westward extension of the range was suggested to be a result of the Rio Grande Valley acting as a corridor for the species ( Brant and Dowler 2000). Cameron County, found at the southern tip of Texas, also was an extreme range extension for the species. Hall (1981) reported the occurrence of L. seminolus in this border county. However, no known specimens have been reported across the Rio Grande border in Mexico ( Ceballos and Oliva 2005). Despite the far western and southern occurrences, the Seminole bat is commonly found within the pine-oak forest of East Texas. We report sixteen new county records for L. seminolus . Some are within the expected distribution for L. seminolus , but two counties, Nueces and Hidalgo, are extensions to the south. Four counties (Brazoria, Dallas, Gregg, and Smith) previously have been documented as DSHS records but lacked voucher specimens.

Bastrop County.— A male ( TTU 113625 , TK 171237) was received on 17 January 2006 and a female ( TTU 114517 , TK 173017) on 17 June 2011 .

Brazoria County.— Three female specimens were received: the first specimen ( TTU 114088 , TK 171500) was received on 14 June 2011 ; the second and third specimens ( TTU 114568 , TK 173068; TTU 114603 , TK 173103) were received on 21 June 2011 .

Brazos County.— Three specimens were received between June 2007 and June 2010. A female ( TTU 113580 , TK 171192) was received on 13 June 2007 , a male ( TTU 113456 , TK 171068) was received on 15 August 2009 , and a juvenile male ( TTU 113980 , TK 171392) was received on 24 June 2010 .

Dallas County.—A male (TTU 113600, TK

171212) was received on 21 September 2006.

Gregg County.— Six specimens were submitted to DSHS and represent new county records. An adult female ( TTU 113421 , TK 171033) was received on 20 May 2008 , an adult male ( TTU 113441 , TK 171053) was received on 12 January 2010 , and an adult female ( TTU 113442 , TK 171054) was received on 26 January 2010 . An adult female ( TTU 113443 , TK 171055) was received on 17April 2010 and an adult male ( TTU 113444 , TK 171056) was received on 25 April 2010 . A female ( TTU 114510 , TK 173010) was received on 2 February 2011 .

Grimes County.—An adult female (TTU 113623,

TK 171235) was received on 21 August 2006.

Henderson County.—A female (TTU 113424,

TK 171036) was received on 9 May 2008.

Hidalgo County.—In 2008, two L. seminolus specimens were submitted from this county on the Texas/ Mexico border. A male specimen (TTU 113591, TK 171203) was received on 24 June 2008. A female specimen (TTU 113390, TK 171002) was received on 21 November 2008. The Seminole bat is not known in Mexico ( Ceballos and Oliva 2005) and therefore, this new record and a report of L. seminolus in neighboring Cameron County ( Hall 1981), represent the southernmost documentation of the species. Hidalgo County occupies both the Southern Texas Plains and Western Gulf Coastal Plains ecoregions.

Jackson County.— Three juvenile male specimens were received on 9 June 2009 ( TTU 113450 , TK 171062; TTU 113451, TK 171063; TTU 113452 TK 171064) .

Lee County.— An adult female ( TTU 113608 , TK 171220) and four pups ( TTU 113843 , TK 171255; TTU 113844, TK 171256; TTU 113845, TK 171257; TTU 113846 , 171258 ) were received on 2 June 2006 . Forearm size on the pups ranged from 17 to 20 mm. An additional female ( TTU 114610 , TK 173110) was received on 29 June 2010 .

Leon County.—A female (TTU 113606, TK

171218) was received on 8 August 2006.

Nueces County.— Nueces County is outside the known distribution for L. seminolus ( Ammerman et al. 2012) . Although it is not the southernmost occurrence of the species, a specimen from this county bridges the gap from East Texas populations to Hidalgo and Cameron counties in South Texas. The Nueces County specimen is an adult female ( TTU 114585 , TK 173085) that was received on 20 November 2010 .

Smith County.— Smith County previously was listed as a DSHS record ( Schmidly 1991), however the original specimen was discarded. Thirteen voucher specimens have been collected from the county establishing it as a part of the range of L. seminolus . A female ( TTU 113616 , TK 171228) received on 16 February 2006 was the first recorded voucher specimen. A sec- ond female ( TTU 113602 , TK 171214) was received on 22 April 2006, a male ( TTU 113611 TK171223) on 27 June 2006, and a female ( TTU 113637 , TK 171249) on 26 July 2006. A second male ( TTU 113631 , TK 171243) was received on 29 July 2006. One juvenile female ( TTU 113567 , TK 171179) was received on 30 June 2007. A female ( TTU 113423 , TK 171035) was received on 12 February 2008 and a male ( TTU 113422 , TK 171034) was received on 18 July 2008. Three specimens were received in 2009; a female ( TTU 113446 , TK 171058) on 11 February 2009, a juvenile female ( TTU 113447 , TK71059) on 11 July, and a male ( TTU 113448 , TK 171060) on 22 August. Two specimens were received in 2010; a male ( TTU 113440 , TK 171052) on 27 January, and a female ( TTU 113445 , TK 171057) on 9 March .

Tarrant County.— A specimen ( TTU 114544 , TK 173044) of undetermined sex was received on 16 June 2011 .

Upshur County.— A male ( TTU 113457 , TK 171069) was received on 18 August 2009 , and a female ( TTU 114615 , TK 173115) was received on 3 August 2010 .

Washington County.— Two juvenile male specimens were received in 2007, one ( TTU 113590 , TK 171202) on 15 June and the other ( TTU 113584 , TK 171196) on 19 June .