Eastern pipistrelle

Eastern Pipistrelle
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Chiroptera Family: Vespertilionidae Genus: Perimyotis Species: P. subflavus
Binomial name
Pipistrellus subflavus F. Cuvier, 1832

The Eastern Pipistrelle (Perimyotis subflavus) is a species of bat that is widely distributed throughout the eastern parts of North America, ranging west until Kansas and Texas, from eastern Mexico up north until southern Ontario. It is the only member of the genus Perimyotis.

Description

This reddish, yellowish and brownish bat is one of the smallest bats in eastern North America. The forearms are orange to red, and the wing membrane is black. Adults weigh between 4 to 8 g and reach a forearm length of some 3 cm.

Pipistrelles are nicknamed butterfly bats for their distinctive moth-like flight pattern.

Life history

Pipistrelles mate in autumn. The females store their mates' sperm inside their reproductive tracts during their hibernation in winter and ovulate in early spring. They hibernate alone or in small groups in caves or mines at temperatures around 10°C, and they usually return to the same hibernation places year after year. When they wake up from hibernation, the females form maternity colonies that are no bigger than 20 bats, whereas the males roost alone during summer. These colonies are usually exposed to more light than for any other bat species. After a gestation period of 44 to 60 days, two twin pups are born around June. (Most other species of bats give birth to only one offspring.) Each one weighs about 20% of its mother's weight. For the first few days after they're born the mother carries the blind and hairless pups. They grow fast and are flying within 14-21 days and stop getting nursed at four weeks of age.

Male pipstrelles live for about 15 years; the females can get as old as 10 years.

Feeding

These bats eat small insects. The hunt at the edges of forests, near streams or over open water and can achieve a speed of about 18 km/h. When the pipistrelles capture food they use the tail or wing membranes to restrain their prey. Some insects are even captured by their tail membrane. It forms a pouch and the bat bends its head in to grab the insect with its teeth. They can catch insects as much as every 2 seconds and increase their mass by 25% in only half an hour.

Classification

Although traditionally considered a member of the genus Pipistrellus, a growing body of evidence suggests that the Eastern Pipistrelle is only distantly related to the pipistrelles proper. Hoofer and Van Den Bussche (2003) found the Pipistrellini (containing Pipistrellus s.s., Nyctalus, and Scotoecus) sister to the Vespertillionini. Both the Eastern and Western Pipistrelle were ouside of this clade. They suggest that the Eastern Pipistrelle be removed from the genus Pipistrellus and placed in its own genus, Perimyotis.

References

• Chiroptera Specialist Group (1996). Pipistrellus subflavus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
• Hoofer, S. R. and R. A. Van Den Bussche. 2003. Molecular phylogenetics of the chiropteran family Vespertillionidae. Acta Chiropterologica 5, supplement:1-63.

External links

• The Eastern Pipistrelle from Texas Parks & Wildlife.
• Pipistrellus subflavus at ADW.

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