Discover Life | All Living Things | IDnature guides | Mammalia | Vespertilionidae | Myotis | leibii

Species Description

• Adult total length: 2 3/4 - 3 3/4 in. (69 - 95 mm)

• Tail: 1 - 1 3/4 in. (25 - 45 mm)

• Hind foot: 1/4 - 3/8 in. (6 - 8 mm)

• Weight: 1/7 - 1/4 oz. (4 - 8 g)

• Physical Characteristics: Bats are unique among mammals because their forelimbs are specialized for true flight. Flight membranes, which are actually extensions of the skin of the back and belly, connect the body with the wings, legs, and tail. Unlike birds, bats use both legs and wings during flight. Other modifications for flight include greatly elongated fingers to provide support for the wing membrane, a keeled sternum for the attachment of the enlarged flight muscles, and fusion of some vertebrae. The membrane extending from the tail to the hind legs is known as the interfemoral membrane. The eastern small-footed bat is the smallest member of the genus Myotis in North America. The fur is long, silky, and tan to golden-brown. The two main distinguishing characteristics are a distinct black mask across the face and the tiny feet that average only approximately 5/16 of an inch (7 to 8 mm) in length.

left lateral view of skull and mandible	dorsal view of skull	ventral view of skull

Index

Photographs

Myotis leibii

Index

Phylogeny

• Range Maps

  North America	Great Smokies

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park: The eastern small-footed bat is among the rarest bats in the park. The first recorded individual was discovered in a cabin at Porters Flat in Greenbrier Cove on April 24, 1970 at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet (Neuhauser, 1971). On June 19, 1989, a second specimen was identified roosting in a building at park headquarters.
  • Sevier Co.: Greenbrier Cove (2200 ft.); park headquarters.

All of the park's caves provide critically important habitats for bats. During the summer, these bats are usually found in buildings, towers, hollow trees, beneath the loose bark of trees, in crevices of cliffs, and beneath bridges. During winter, these colonial bats move into caves and abandoned mines where they either hang individually or in small clusters of 25 to 30. The eastern small-footed bat has been found most commonly in caves in forested areas. They are one of the last bats to enter caves in autumn and often hibernate near cave or mine entrances where temperatures drop below freezing and where humidity is relatively low (Harvey et al., 1999). Some individuals have also been taken in rock crevices, beneath bridges, and in buildings.

Index

Natural History

• Reproduction
  Little is known about the reproductive habits. Mating occurs in autumn and sperm is stored in the female until fertilization in the spring. Females give birth to a single young between late May and July. Nursery colonies containing as many as 20 bats have been reported from buildings (Harvey et al., 1999).

• Longevity
  The longest recorded lifespan of a wild individual has been 12 years (Hitchcock, 1965; Kunz, 1982).

• Terrestrial Ecology
  The senses of sight and hearing are well - developed in bats. Since most bats become active near dusk and are active much of the night, sight is of little importance in navigation and in the capture of prey. Instead, they use echolocation, a system somewhat similar to radar. They emit ultrasonic calls far above the range of human hearing that are reflected from objects ahead of them. They hear the echoes and are able to avoid obstacles and find food in total darkness. Different species can be distinguished by differences in the structure of their echolocation calls (Fenton and Bell, 1981).

  During feeding maneuvers, the tail and wing membranes are used to capture and restrain prey. Some insects are captured by the tail membrane, which forms a pouch-like compartment. The bat must bend its head forward in order to grasp the insect with its teeth and take it into its mouth. Sometimes the bat may use its mouth to capture an insect from its wing.

  Eleven species of bats have been recorded in the park and all feed exclusively on insects. During the colder months when flying insects are unavailable, bats must either hibernate or migrate to warmer areas. Eight of our bats are known to hibernate. Only three - the red bat, hoary bat, and the silver-haired bat - are migratory. Bats have been seen flying over the park during every month of the year. When flying during the winter, however, they do not feed.

• Predators and Defense
  No predators recorded from the park.

• Parasites
  Chiggers identified as Trombicula (Leptotrombidium) myotis were collected from the posterior margins of the ears of the Porters Flat specimen (Neuhauser, 1971).

• Transmittable Diseases
  Bats are capable of transmitting two diseases to humans - rabies and histoplasmosis. Histoplasmosis is a disease caused by inhaling dust that contains contaminated spores. Tuttle (1988) stated: "Less than a half of 1 percent of bats contract rabies, a frequency no higher than that seen in many other animals. Like others, they die quickly, but unlike even dogs and cats, rabid bats seldom become aggressive." Bats do not attack when they get rabies; they just lie in one place. Although it is rare for humans to contract rabies from infected bats, persons handling them should be aware of this possibility.

• University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology
• eNature

Index

Acknowledgements

• Text
  • Dr. Donald W. Linzey, Wytheville Community College - wclinzd@wcc.vccs.edu
  • Christy Brecht, Wytheville Community College - wcbrecc@wcc.vccs.edu

• Photographs
  • Roger Barbour

• Map development
  • Richard Schulz, Great Smoky Mountains National Park - richard_schulz@nps.gov

• Web page design & coding
  • Denise Lim, University of Georgia, Athens
  • John Pickering, University of Georgia, Athens

• Barbour, R.W. and W. H. Davis. 1969. Bats of America. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky.

• Best, T.L. and J. B. Jennings. 1997. Myotis leibii. Mammalian Species No. 547: 1-6. American Society of Mammalogists.

• Bogan, M. A. 1999. Eastern small-footed myotis. Pages 93-94. In: D. E. Wilson, and S. Ruff (eds.). The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

• Fenton, M.B., and G.P. Bell. 1981. Recognition of insectivorous bats by their echolocation calls. Journal of Mammalogy 62 (2): 233-243.

• Harvey, M.J. 1992. Bats of the eastern United States. Little Rock: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

• Hitchcock, H.B. 1965. Twenty-three years of bat-banding in Ontario and Quebec. Canadian Field-Naturalist 79: 4-14.

• Kunz, T. H. (ed.). 1982. Ecology of Bats. New York: Plenum Press.

• Linzey, D. W. 1995a. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia.

• Linzey, D. W. 1995b. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park-1995 Update. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 111(1):1-81.

• Linzey, D. W. 1998. The Mammals of Virginia. Blacksburg, Virginia: The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc

• Neuhauser, H.N. 1971. Myotis leibii leibii in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 46(2): 1219.

• Tuttle, M.D. 1988. America's Neighborhood Bats. Austin: University of Texas Press.