Lasiurus borealis (Muller 1776)

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 : 3-4

Lasiurus borealis (Muller 1776)

Eastern Red Bat

The eastern red bat is a statewide and year-long resident of Texas. Although this bat occurs in Texas throughout the year, it is highly migratory and capture records have shown a dramatic decrease in state distribution throughout winter months. L. borealis is a tree roosting and forest dwelling species. The distribution of the eastern red bat is largely influenced by the vegetation found within each region. Records within the Chihuahuan Desert Region are limited to mountainous areas and emphasize the importance of habitat for this species ( Ammerman et al. 2012). DSHS specimens add seven new counties to the distribution of L. borealis in Texas. These counties are Caldwell, Ellis, Lee, Midland, Potter, Taylor, and Titus counties. Ellis, Lee, Midland and Taylor counties previously were listed as TDH/DSHS records. However, given that the specimens supporting these records originally were discarded, we consider the new vouchers as county records.

Caldwell County.—An adult male (TTU 113947,

TK 171359) was received on 12 May 2009.

Ellis County.—An adult female (TTU 113934,

TK 171346) was received on 3 July 2009.

Lee County.— Four specimens were received on 3 July 2009. One specimen was an adult male ( TTU 113891 , TK 171303); three others were juvenile males ( TTU 113959 , TK 171371; TTU 113966, TK 171378, TTU 113970 , TK 171382) .

Midland County.— Two adult males were received on 17 June 2009 and on 2 September 2009

(TTU 113882, TK 171294; TTU 113870, TK 171282), respectively. One adult female ( TTU 113862 , TK 171274) was received on 2 September 2009 .

Potter County.—Potter County previously was listed as a TDH record ( Schmidly 1991) but lacked a voucher specimen; therefore we consider the following specimen a new county record. An adult female (TTU 113932, TK 171344) was received on 21 June 2009.

Taylor County.— An adult male ( TTU 113963 , TK 171375) was received on 4 September 2009 .

Titus County.— Schmidly (2004) and Ammerman et al. (2012) depict a record for this species; however, no voucher specimen of L. borealis from Titus County was found to accompany that designation. A juvenile male (TTU 113894, TK 171306) was received on 1 July 2009 and is the first documented voucher specimen of this species from Titus County.