Distribution and Status of the Chiroptera of Indiana

Abstract

The following species are recorded for the State: Myotis lucifugus, M. austroriparius, M. grisescens, M. keenii, M. sodalis, Lasionycteris noctivagans, Pipistrellus subflavus, Eptesicus fuscus, Lasiurus borealis, L. cinereus, Nycticeius humeralis, Plecotus rafinesquii. Of these, Myotis austroriparius, M. grisescens, and Plecotus rafinesquii are rare and occur locally. Data on known breeding colony locations are mapped by counties. A key to adult bats is included. Among native Indiana mammals, the least known are the Chiroptera. Bats are extremely difficult to study, and since they are of less economic importance than game animals our knowledge of bats has lagged far behind that of many other species. Early Indiana naturalists and mammalogists, with the exception of Walter L. Hahn, worked little with bats. Many old literature references are to specimens not preserved or to collected material no longer extant; many identifications (especially in the genus Myotis) cannot be verified. More recently, mammalogists have taken a renewed interest in these fascinating mammals. The availability of Japanese mist nets for collecting has greatly facilitated field work. Also, more research funds have become available since several insectivorous species of bats in the United States have been implicated in diseases harmful to man, such as rabies, histoplasmosis, and encephalitis. Our own interests date from the late 1940's, and when we obtained bat-banding permits in the fall of 1951, field work began in earnest. Cope worked under National Science Foundation Grant No. 9321 from 1958 to 1961. A five-year study of the mammals of Indiana, supported by the Agricultural Experiment Station, Purdue University, was begun by Mumford in 1958. Our studies are continuing, but have already revealed much new data concerning the 12 species of bats known from the State. This is the first attempt since Lyon (1936) to bring distribution and population data up to date. Common names used in this report are from Hall and Kelson (1959). We follow Handley (1959) with regard to the taxonomy of the big-eared bat. The synonymy for each species applies only to names used by authors in reference to Indiana. In the following species accounts, information under History refers to the literature prior to and including Lyon's Mammals of Indiana in 1936, after which a decided break in data existed until our own work began. Acknowledgments.-We thank the National Science Foundation and Purdue University for financial assistance in carrying out the later phases of our research. Among the many persons who provided considerable aid in the field or supplied field notes were Ted Brown, Jack Confer, Cameron Gifford, Bernard * This is Journal Paper No. 2248 from the Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station.