First Record of Plecotus rafinesquii in Central Arkansas

Abstract

A specimen of Rafinesque's big-eared bat, Plecotus rafinesquii macrotis, was collected at Camp Robinson, Pulaski Co., Arkansas. The specimen, a male, was taken on 23 March 1986 inside an abandoned building. The bat is deposited in the Tarleton State University mammal collection, Stephenville, Texas. In Arkansas, P. r. macrotis is only known to occur in the western and southern counties (Barbour and Davis, 1969; Jones, 1977; Sealander, 1979; Hall, 1981). This record from Pluaski County, Arkansas, is noteworthy, as it fills in the gap between Crawford and Drew Counties extending Rafinesque's big-eared bat into central Arkansas (Sealander, 1979).