{{Short description|Species of bat}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Speciesbox | image = Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus).jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Arroyo-Cabrales, J. |author2=de Grammont, P.C. |date=2017 |title=''Antrozous pallidus'' |volume=2017 |article-number=e.T1790A22129152 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T1790A22129152.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Antrozous | parent_authority = H. Allen, 1862 | display_parents = 2 | species = pallidus | authority = (LeConte, 1856)<ref name="Simmons">{{cite journal |first=Nancy B. |last=Simmons |year=1998 |title=A reappraisal of interfamilial relationships of bats |journal=Bat Biology and Conservation |editor= T.H. Kunz |editor2= P.A. Racey |pages=3–26}}</ref> | range_map = Antrozous pallidus map.png | range_map_caption = Pallid bat range }}
The '''pallid bat''' ('''''Antrozous pallidus''''') is a species of bat that ranges from western Canada to central Mexico. It is the sole species of its genus and is closely related to Van Gelder's bat (''Bauerus dubiaquercus''), which is sometimes included in ''Antrozous''.<ref name=Simmons-MSW>{{cite book|last=Simmons|first=Nancy B.|chapter=Order Chiroptera|pages=498–499|title=Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference|editor1-last=Wilson|editor1-first=Don E.|editor2-last=Reeder|editor2-first=DeeAnn M.|year=2005|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0-8018-8221-0}}</ref> Although it has in the past been placed in its own subfamily (Antrozoinae) or even family (Antrozoidae), it is now considered part of the subfamily Vespertilioninae and the tribe Antrozoini.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Tribal phylogenetic relationships within Vespertilioninae (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data|last1=Roehrs|first1=Z.P.|last2=Lack|first2=J.B.|last3=Van Den Bussche|first3=R.A.|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=91|issue=5|pages=1073–1092|year=2010|doi=10.1644/09-MAMM-A-325.1|doi-access=free}}</ref>
It is the state bat of California.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yang |first=Sarah |date=2024-01-03 |title=California Now Has an Official State Bat and Mushroom |url=https://www.sunset.com/lifestyle/culture/california-state-bat-and-state-mushroom |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=Sunset Magazine}}</ref>
==Description== Pallid bats have a head and body length of approximately 2.75 inches (6.2-7.9 cm), forearm length of approximately 2.1 inches (4.5–6 cm),<ref name=":2" /> a tail of approximately 1.75 inches (3.9-4.9 cm), and a wingspan of 15-16 inches (38–40 cm).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = Mammals of North America|last = Reid|first = Fionna|publisher = Peterson Field Guides|year = 2006|isbn = 978-0-395-93596-5|pages = 423–424}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/bats/Pallid%20bat.php|title = Animal Fact Sheet: Pallid bat|website = Desert Museum}}</ref> They weigh 14-25 grams. These bats are large, with long forward pointing ears (over 2.5 cm). Fur is pale at the roots, brown on their back, with a light underside. Pallid bats have a blunt piglike snout.<ref name=":0" /> The dental formula for pallid bats is {{DentalFormula|upper=1.1.1.3|lower=2.1.2.3|total=28}}.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Hermanson|first1=John W.|last2=O'Shea|first2=Thomas J.|date=1983-12-15|title=Antrozous pallidus|journal=Mammalian Species|issue=213|pages=1–8|doi=10.2307/3503896|issn=0076-3519|jstor=3503896|doi-access=free}}</ref> The bacula of pallid bats are wedge or spade-shaped, generally with a short narrow base which widens and then tapers towards the tip. The bone also has a characteristic downward 'dip' around the midpoint, with a raised base and tip.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Krutzsch|first1=Philip H.|last2=Vaughan|first2=Terry A.|date=1955|title=Additional Data on the Bacula of North American Bats|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=36|issue=1|pages=96–100|doi=10.2307/1375727|jstor=1375727}}</ref>
== Ecology == [[File:Antrozous pallidus (Madera Canyon).jpg|thumb|left|A colony of roosting ''A. pallidus'' at Madera Canyon, Santa Rita Mountains, southeastern Arizona]] Pallid bats are typically found in arid or semi-arid habitats, often in mountainous or rocky areas near water. They are also found over open, sparsely vegetated grasslands. During the day time, pallid bats typically roost in cracks and crevices, which may include tile roofs, exfoliating bark of trees, or rocky outcrops. During the night, this species will often use a night roost that is closer to their foraging grounds than their day roost. A night roost is usually less protected than a day roost; open porches may be used as night roosts by this species. In the winter time, this species may dip into shallow bouts of torpor, often in buildings, caves, or cracks in rocks.<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" />
Pallid bats are insectivores that feed on arthropods such as crickets, and are capable of consuming up to half their weight in insect every night. Pallid bats are gleaners, capturing prey from the ground and transporting it to their night roost for consumption. When foraging, pallid bats typically fly at low heights of 1–2 m off the ground.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" /> Pallid bats most notably consume Arizona bark scorpions, which are the most venomous scorpions in North America: their stings can be fatal to humans. Pallid bats were found to have one or more missense mutations that substitute amino acids in their voltage-gated sodium channels, which may be responsible for their resistance to scorpion venom.<ref name="Hopp 2017">{{cite journal | last1 = Hopp | first1 = B. H. | last2 = Arvidson | first2 = R. S. | last3 = Adams | first3 = M. E. | last4 = Razak | first4 = K. A. | year = 2017 | title = Arizona bark scorpion venom resistance in the pallid bat, Antrozous pallidus | journal = PLOS ONE| volume = 12 | issue = 8| article-number = e0183215 | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0183215| pmid = 28854259 | pmc = 5576675 | bibcode = 2017PLoSO..1283215H | doi-access = free }}</ref> Although pallid bats are primarily insectivores, they exhibit some flexibility in their diet when seasonally feeding on Mexican columnar cacti (particularly cardón cactus) nectar in spring,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Frick|first1=Winifred F.|last2=Heady|first2=Paul A.|last3=Hayes|first3=John P.|date=2009-10-15|title=Facultative Nectar-Feeding Behavior in a Gleaning Insectivorous Bat (Antrozous pallidus)|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=90|issue=5|pages=1157–1164|doi=10.1644/09-mamm-a-001.1|issn=0022-2372|doi-access=}}</ref> and even cactus fruit in summer.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Aliperti|first1=Jaclyn R.|last2=Kelt|first2=Douglas A.|last3=Heady|first3=Paul A.|last4=Frick|first4=Winifred F.|date=2017-03-21|title=Using behavioral and stable isotope data to quantify rare dietary plasticity in a temperate bat|url=https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/98/2/340/2770523|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=98|issue=2|pages=340–349|doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyw196|issn=0022-2372|doi-access=free}}</ref> Pallid bats are also more effective pollinators than some of the nectarivorous bats with whom they compete for cacti.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Frick|first1=Winifred F.|last2=Price|first2=Ryan D.|last3=Heady III|first3=Paul A.|last4=Kay|first4=Kathleen M.|date=2012-12-03|title=Insectivorous bat pollinates columnar cactus more effectively per visit than specialized nectar bat|url=http://datadryad.org/resource/doi:10.5061/dryad.5g2s0|journal=The American Naturalist|volume=181|issue=1|pages=137–144|doi=10.1086/668595|pmid=23234851|s2cid=31277235|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
Like many other bat species, pallid bats are heterothermic, meaning they can be either poikilothermic or homoeothermic ( cold blooded and warm blooded) depending on the time of year. They have the ability to control their body temperature and equilibrate it with the environment during winter hibernation and whenever they rest.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Antrozous_pallidus/|title = Antrozous pallidus pallid bat|website = Animal Diversity Web}}</ref>
Pallid bat size varies greatly depending on their habitat. Bats in areas of low primary productivity, such as the desert, tend to be smaller due to less availability of resources. The bats that reside in areas with more primary productivity, such as coastal regions tend to be on the larger side. Larger pallid bats also have craniums that allow them to eat larger, harder prey more easily.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kelly|first1=Rochelle M.|last2=Friedman|first2=Rachel|last3=Santana|first3=Sharlene E.|date=2018-06-01|title=Primary productivity explains size variation across the Pallid bat's western geographic range|journal=Functional Ecology|language=en|volume=32|issue=6|pages=1520–1530|doi=10.1111/1365-2435.13092|bibcode=2018FuEco..32.1520K |s2cid=91099486|issn=1365-2435}}</ref>
== Behavior and natural history == thumb|left|Wingspan of the pallid bat The mating season ranges from October to February, when the bats are in hibernation. Male bats store sperm in the spring and summer, a process driven by changes in melatonin as a response to decreasing daylight hours. Copulation occurs in autumn and females store the sperm until spring, when they emerge from hibernation and go through estrus.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Beasley|first1=L. J.|last2=Smale|first2=L.|last3=Smith|first3=E. R.|date=March 1984|title=Melatonin influences the reproductive physiology of male pallid bats|journal=Biology of Reproduction|volume=30|issue=2|pages=300–305|issn=0006-3363|pmid=6704467|doi=10.1095/biolreprod30.2.300|doi-access=}}</ref> The female bat gives birth to one or two pups during early June; they weigh about {{convert|3|to|3.5|g|oz|abbr=on}} at birth and in four or five weeks are capable of making short flights. Pups are weaned after 40 to 45 days.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bassett|first=John E.|date=1984-05-31|title=Litter Size and Postnatal Growth Rate in the Pallid Bat, Antrozous pallidus|url=https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/65/2/317/869330|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=65|issue=2|pages=317–319|doi=10.2307/1381170|issn=0022-2372|jstor=1381170|url-access=subscription}}</ref> They do not attain adult size until about eight weeks of age, and do not become sexually mature until after around two years.
Like the majority of bat species, pallid bats are capable of using echolocation while foraging and traveling from their roost sites to foraging grounds. However, they may also opt to not echolocate while foraging, and instead use their large ears to locate insects on the ground.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=2349|title = California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System -- Pallid Bat}}</ref> As gleaners, they primarily rely on auditory cues produced by prey instead of echolocation to hunt. The rise of anthropogenic noise pollution, such as traffic, in their habitats is negatively impacting their foraging and can reduce efficiency by up to three times.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bunkley|first1=Jessie Patrice|last2=Barber|first2=Jesse Rex|date=2015-11-01|title=Noise Reduces Foraging Efficiency in Pallid Bats (Antrozous pallidus)|journal=Ethology|language=en|volume=121|issue=11|pages=1116–1121|doi=10.1111/eth.12428|bibcode=2015Ethol.121.1116B |issn=1439-0310}}</ref>
Pallid bats have been identified in the fossil record from late Pleistocene deposits in the western United States and Cuba.<ref name=":2" />
==Predation== Pallid bats feed on the ground, which makes them vulnerable to terrestrial predators and injury. Terrestrial predators may include snakes, domestic cats, foxes (Vulpes), coyotes, and raccoons. Adults and young bats are mainly preyed upon by snakes or crepuscular and nocturnal raptors, mainly owls.<ref>Antrozous pallidus (pallid bat). Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Antrozous_pallidus/</ref>
==See also== *Bats of the United States *Bats of Canada
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Antrozous pallidus}} * {{Wikispecies-inline|Antrozous pallidus}}
{{Vespertilionidae|V.|Pl.}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q301105}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Vespertilionidae Category:Bats of Canada Category:Bats of Mexico Category:Bats of the Caribbean Category:Bats of the United States Category:Fauna of the Northwestern United States Category:Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States) Category:Fauna of the Southwestern United States Category:Fauna of the Baja California Peninsula Category:Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands Category:Fauna of the Colorado Desert Category:Fauna of the Great Basin Category:Fauna of the Mojave Desert Category:Fauna of the Sonoran Desert Category:Mammals of Cuba Category:Mammals described in 1856 Category:Taxa named by John Lawrence LeConte Category:Symbols of California Category:Least concern biota of the United States