Family: Vespertilionidae, Vespertilionid Bats view all from this family
Description Dull brown, with short, thick, woolly fur; hairs show little or no contrast in color between base and tip. Toes have long hairs extending beyond tips of claws. Skull has sagittal crest (bony ridge extending along top from front to back) that can be felt through the skin. Calcar not keeled. Typical short, rounded tragus. In Indiana and Illinois, underparts buff in summer, white in winter. L 3 1/4-3 7/8" (84-99 mm); T 1 3/8-1 3/4" (36-45 mm); HF 3/8- 1/2" (10-12 mm); FA 1 3/8-1 5/8" (35-42 mm); Wt 1/4- 3/8 oz (7-12 g).
Warning Bats are susceptible to rabies, a serious viral disease that results in death if untreated. Rabid bats rarely attack humans or other animals, but bats found lying on the ground may be rabid. Never touch or pick up any bat. Stay away from any animal that seems to be acting strangely and report it to animal-control officers. If you are bitten by a possibly rabid animal, you must immediately consult a doctor for a series of injections; there is no cure once symptoms emerge.
Similar Species Little Brown Myotis has longer silky fur with burnished tips. Keen's Myotis has longer ears and longer, thinner tragus. Indiana Myotis has keeled calcar. Eastern Small-footed and Western Small-footed myotises have smaller foot and keeled calcar.
Breeding Nursery colonies begin forming in March in caves where water is plentiful. 2 young are born late April to mid-May.
Habitat Wooded and open areas. In North, roosts in caves; in South, in buildings or hollow trees, also in caves in Florida.
Range Southeastern U.S.: w Kentucky; Arkansas and Louisiana east to Georgia and n Florida; isolated populations in s Illinois and s Indiana.
Discussion In recent years, Florida caves have had some of the largest colonies of the Southeastern Myotis, with up to 90,000 bats packed 150 per square foot (1,600 per square meter). This is the only North American myotis that produces more than one young. In winter, most of these bats leave the maternity caves to seek shelter in other protected places, such as culverts, bridge beams, and buildings, where they gather in small numbers. Contrary to popular opinion, North American bats seldom eat mosquitoes, although this species often does so in Florida, where mosquitoes are abundant. Predators include corn snakes and rat snakes.
