Corynorhinus townsendii

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	CHIROPTERA	VESPERTILIONIDAE

Scientific Name:

Corynorhinus townsendii

Species Authority:

Cooper, 1837

Common Name/s:

English

–

Townsend's Big-eared Bat

Synonym/s:

Plecotus townsendii Cooper, 1837

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2008

Assessor/s

Arroyo-Cabrales, J. & Ticul Alvarez Castaneda, S.

Evaluator/s:

Medellín, R. (Chiroptera Red List Authority) & Schipper, J. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)

Justification:
This species is listed as Least Concern in because of its wide distribution, presumed large population, occurrence in a number of protected areas and because it is unlikely to be declining at nearly the rate required to qualify for listing in a threatened category. There are two subpopulations/subspecies that are listed as endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (ingens and virginianus)

History:

1996	–	Vulnerable (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)
1994	–	Indeterminate (Groombridge 1994)
1990	–	Indeterminate (IUCN 1990)
1988	–	Indeterminate (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988)
1986	–	Indeterminate (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)
1986	–	Endangered (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)
1982	–	Endangered (Thornback and Jenkins 1982)
1982	–	Indeterminate (Thornback and Jenkins 1982)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	S British Columbia (Canada) through W USA to Oaxaca (Mexico), east to Virginia (Simmons 2005).
Countries:	Native: Canada; Mexico; United States
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	During the winter months, they hibernate either individually or in groups composed of several hundred bats, and they hibernate in mines or caves. In the summer, these bats roost in a wide variety of locations, including limestone caves, lava tubes, and human-made structures. In the summer, the females form nesting roost. Males are solitary during the maternity periods. The maternity colonies consist of one or more small clusters, which rarely exceed 100 bats. Females are alert and active in the maternity roosts and prefer dark places for their roosts (Kunz, 1982).
Population Trend:	Stable

Population:

During the winter months, they hibernate either individually or in groups composed of several hundred bats, and they hibernate in mines or caves. In the summer, these bats roost in a wide variety of locations, including limestone caves, lava tubes, and human-made structures. In the summer, the females form nesting roost. Males are solitary during the maternity periods. The maternity colonies consist of one or more small clusters, which rarely exceed 100 bats. Females are alert and active in the maternity roosts and prefer dark places for their roosts (Kunz, 1982).

Population Trend:

Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	C. townsendii are found in a variety of locations that range from coniferous forests and woodlands, deciduous riparian woodland, semi-desert and montane shrublands (Nowak, 1999). They are most common in evergreen forests in the warmer months (Kunz and Martin, 1982). Female bats usually only have one young a year (Tuttle, 1988). The newborns range in weight from 2.1-2.7 g. There is a strong maternal bond and the young bats squawk when the mother is away. The young bats, however, grow quickly, being able to fly within three weeks. After two months, many of the young bats have left the nursery roosts, with male bats leaving before female. In their first year, male bats are almost certainly incapable of breedding while female bats are able to reproduce at the age of four months (Barbourand Davis, 1969). These animals are sensitive to light and movement so if they are disturbed during the day, they awake and their ears begin to move as they try to indentify the intruder. If the disturbance occurs for more than a few seconds, the entire group takes flight (Barbour and Davis, 1969). Mating usually occurs in two phases. In the summer phase, both partners are alert and active, in a time known as the active phase. During the winter, or the passive phase, the females are torpid and the males seek out and find these females and mate with them. The females remain unattentive throughout the entire encounter (Fenton, 1985). These bats are insectivorous. They to emerge late in the day to feed (Barbour and Davis, 1969). Townsend's big eared bats feed on small moths and either capture these moths from leaves or catch them directly in the air along forested edges (Kunz and Martin, 1982).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

C. townsendii are found in a variety of locations that range from coniferous forests and woodlands, deciduous riparian woodland, semi-desert and montane shrublands (Nowak, 1999). They are most common in evergreen forests in the warmer months (Kunz and Martin, 1982). Female bats usually only have one young a year (Tuttle, 1988). The newborns range in weight from 2.1-2.7 g. There is a strong maternal bond and the young bats squawk when the mother is away. The young bats, however, grow quickly, being able to fly within three weeks. After two months, many of the young bats have left the nursery roosts, with male bats leaving before female. In their first year, male bats are almost certainly incapable of breedding while female bats are able to reproduce at the age of four months (Barbourand Davis, 1969).
These animals are sensitive to light and movement so if they are disturbed during the day, they awake and their ears begin to move as they try to indentify the intruder. If the disturbance occurs for more than a few seconds, the entire group takes flight (Barbour and Davis, 1969). Mating usually occurs in two phases. In the summer phase, both partners are alert and active, in a time known as the active phase. During the winter, or the passive phase, the females are torpid and the males seek out and find these females and mate with them. The females remain unattentive throughout the entire encounter (Fenton, 1985). These bats are insectivorous. They to emerge late in the day to feed (Barbour and Davis, 1969). Townsend's big eared bats feed on small moths and either capture these moths from leaves or catch them directly in the air along forested edges (Kunz and Martin, 1982).

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	This species has declined due to direct killing by people and because of abandonment of roosts caused by disturbance due to explorers and vandals. Minimization of human disturbance is essential for Corynorhinus townsendii to remain in existence (Nowak, 1999). Human intervention may have helped conserved the population on the west coast of North America, because man-made structures provide a shelter for big-eared bats.

Major Threat(s):

This species has declined due to direct killing by people and because of abandonment of roosts caused by disturbance due to explorers and vandals. Minimization of human disturbance is essential for Corynorhinus townsendii to remain in existence (Nowak, 1999). Human intervention may have helped conserved the population on the west coast of North America, because man-made structures provide a shelter for big-eared bats.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Avoid human disturbance; it occurs in several protected areas.

Conservation Actions:

Avoid human disturbance; it occurs in several protected areas.

Citation:	Arroyo-Cabrales, J. & Ticul Alvarez Castaneda, S. 2008. Corynorhinus townsendii. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 07 January 2009.
Disclaimer:	To make use of this information, please check the Copyright and Data Disclaimer.
Feedback:	If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided