Big red bat

{{Short description|Species of bat}} {{speciesbox | name = Big red bat | image = Lasiurus egregius.jpg | status = DD | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn 2016">{{cite journal| last1= Sampaio| first1= E.| last2= Lim| first2= B.| last3= Peters| first3= S.| last4= Samudio Jr.| first4= R.| last5= Pino| first5= J.| year= 2016| title= Lasiurus egregius| journal= The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species| volume= 2016| page= e.T11351A22119870| doi= 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T11351A22119870.en| doi-access= free}}</ref> | genus = Lasiurus | species = egregius | authority = (Peters, 1870) | range_map = Lasiurus egregius map.svg | synonyms = {{specieslist | Atalpha egregia|Peters, 1871}} }}

The '''big red bat''' ('''''Lasiurus egregius''''') is a species of vesper bat from South and Central America.

==Taxonomy== It was described as a new species in 1870 by German naturalist Wilhelm Peters. Peters placed it in the now-defunct genus ''Atalpha'', with a binomial of ''Atalpha egregia''.<ref name="Peters 1870">{{cite journal|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42381873|last=Peters| first=W.| year=1870| journal=Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussische Akademie des Wissenschaften zu Berlin|volume=1870|pages=912–914|title=Hr. W. Peters legte eine monographische Übersicht der Chiroptera Gattungen Nycteris und Atalpha vor.|language=German|trans-title=Mr. W. Peters presented a monographic survey of the Chiroptera genera Nycteris and Atalpha.}}</ref> The holotype was collected in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina<ref name="Peters 1870"/> by Hermann Burmeister.<ref name="Carter 1978">{{cite journal|last1=Carter|first1= D. C.| last2= Dolan| first2= P. G.| year= 1978| title=Catalogue of type specimens of neotropical bats in selected European museums| volume=15| journal=Special Publications of the Museum: Texas Tech University| pages=82|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/55014343}}</ref>

==Description== It has black flight membranes and its fur is a consistent shade of red over its entire body.<ref name="Gardner 2008">{{cite book| last=Gardner| first=A. L.| year=2008| publisher=University of Chicago Press| volume=1| title=Mammals of South America, Volume 1: Marsupials, Xenarthrans, Shrews, and Bats|pages=458–467| isbn=978-0226282428}}</ref> Two individuals captured in Honduras had forearm lengths of {{cvt|50-51|mm|in}} and body weights of {{cvt|16-17|g|oz}}. Its ear length is approximately {{cvt|18|mm|in}}.<ref name="Mora 2012"/> Its wingspan is approximately {{cvt|390.3|mm|in}}.<ref name="Lopez 2014"/>

==Range and habitat== The big red bat is found in Central and South America. Its range includes Panama, Brazil, French Guiana,<ref name="iucn 2016"/> and Suriname.<ref name="Lopez 2014">{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/01650521.2014.907600|title=Echolocation of the big red bat ''Lasiurus'' egregius(Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) and first record from the Central Brazilian Amazon|journal=Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment|volume=49|pages=18–25|year=2014|last1=López-Baucells|first1=Adrià|last2=Rocha|first2=Ricardo|last3=Fernández-Arellano|first3=Gilberto|last4=Bobrowiec|first4=Paulo Estefano D.|last5=Palmeirim|first5=Jorge M.|last6=Meyer|first6=Christoph F. J.|issue=1 |bibcode=2014SNFE...49...18L |s2cid=15721044 |url=http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/37811/1/L%C3%B3pez-Baucells%20et%20al.%202014b.pdf }}</ref> In 1998, the species was documented in Honduras for the first time. This marked a {{cvt|1200|km|mi}} extension of the species' range from the previously known northern limit.<ref name="Mora 2012">{{cite journal|doi=10.1894/0038-4909-57.1.104|title=Big Red Bat ''Lasiurus'' egregius(Vespertilionidae) in Honduras|journal=The Southwestern Naturalist|volume=57|pages=104–105|year=2012|last1=Mora|first1=José M.|issue=1 |bibcode=2012SWNat..57..104M |s2cid=84223846}}</ref>

==Conservation== This species is infrequently encountered. The capture of two individuals in Honduras in 1998 marked the fifth and sixth individuals ever documented.<ref name="Mora 2012"/> Due to the lack of information on its ecology, geographic extent, population size, and threats it faces, the IUCN lists this species as data deficient as of 2016.<ref name="iucn 2016"/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://collections.rom.on.ca/objects/1077035/big-red-bat-lasiurus-egregius?ctx=f29908e2-b64c-4ca7-8381-851303e6b159&idx=0 Image of a specimen collected in Suriname]

{{DEFAULTSORT:bat, Big red}} Category:Lasiurus Category:Bats of South America Category:Bats of Brazil Category:Mammals described in 1870 Category:Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters Category:Bats of Central America Category:Mammals of Suriname Category:Mammals of French Guiana