Family: Vespertilionidae, Vespertilionid Bats view all from this family
Description Uniformly dark pinkish brown. Lips, nose, and forearms pinkish. Ears moderate in size; tragus relatively short and rounded. Feet small; hairs on toes short and inconspicuous. Calcar keeled. L 2 3/4-3 5/8" (71-91 mm); T 1-1 3/4" (27-44 mm); HF 1/4- 3/8" (7-9 mm); FA 1 3/8-1 5/8" (35-41 mm); E 3/8- 5/8" (10-15 mm); Wt 1/8- 1/4 oz (5-8 g).
Endangered Status The Indiana Myotis is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered throughout its range in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennesee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. Bats thrive when their roosting caves are left undisturbed, and they suffer when they are intruded upon. The main factor in the decline of the Indiana Myotis and other bats is the intrusion into their caves by people; cave tours, spelunkers, vandals, and researchers all take a toll on these sensitive animals. Changes to their roosting caves, such as alterations to the airflow or blocking of entrances can make caves unsuitable. It is said that so many caves have been degraded that some 87 percent of the Indiana Bat population hibernates in only seven caves.
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 unkeeled or weakly keeled calcar; hairs on toes project beyond ends of toes.
Breeding Apparently mates in fall at cave entrances when swarming or in winter when hibernating. 1 young born in June; able to fly at 4 weeks.
Habitat Wooded or semi-wooded areas along streams in summer. Hibernates in cold caves in winter.
Range Midwestern U.S. from extreme ne Oklahoma, n Arkansas, and Missouri north to s Michigan, east to New England, and south to Alabama.
Discussion In October, Indiana Myotises congregate in huge numbers (as many as 125,000 per cave) in a few large caves with low temperatures and high humidity. They hibernate in tightly packed clusters of hundreds of bats, only one row deep and so neatly aligned that the noses, lips, wrists, and ears of each bat can be seen. A cluster observed in Indiana in 1991 contained an estimated 38,000 bats. Maternity colonies of up to 125 females congregate under loose tree bark. In spring, they leave their caves and spread into wooded areas over their range, where they feed on a variety of small insects, particularly moths.
