Ozark Big-Eared Bat
| Ozark big-eared bat | |
|---|---|
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| An Ozark big-eared bat on a cave ceiling | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Suborder: | Microchiroptera |
| Family: | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus: | Corynorhinus |
| Species: | C. townsendii |
| Subspecies: | C. t. ingens |
| Trinomial name | |
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Corynorhinus townsendii ingens |
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The Ozark big-eared bat is an endangered species found only in a small number of caves in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, the southern central United States. Also known as the western big-eared bat, the long-eared bat, and the lump-nosed bat, its appearance is defined by a pair of outsize ears and a lump-adorned nose. The Ozark big-eared bat is the largest and reddest of the five subspecies of Corynorhinus townsendii and is medium-sized and weighs from 0.2 to 0.5 ounces. It has very large, 1-in-long ears that connect at the base across the forehead. The snout has large, prominent lumps above the nostrils. These particular bats feed on moths and other insects; they forage along forest edges.
Bats are beneficial to our planet in a myriad of ways. A colony of big brown bats can eat 18 million cucumber beetles. The insectivorous food habits of bats play an important role in maintaining a balance among insect populations. Other species of bats, especially in temperate zones, are insectivorous and collectively consume large quantities of insects. Bat droppings or guano support entire ecosystems of unique organisms, including bacteria which are useful in detoxifying wastes, as well as producing gasohol (mixture of gasoline and alcohol) and certain antibiotics.
The caves used by Ozark big-eared bats are located in karst regions dominated by oak-hickory forests. Karst, a special type of landscape, is formed by the dissolution of soluble rocks, including limestone and dolomite. The temperature of hibernation caves ranges from 40 to 50 °F. The Ozark big-eared bats use caves all year around, thus they are highly susceptible to extinction if their homes vary too greatly in temperature, are disturbed, or are destroyed. The Ozark big-eared bats once lived in caves in Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma,. but they have apparently abandoned their Missouri habitat due to human encroachment and cave disturbance.
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Wikipedia