Silver-Haired Bats

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Silver-Haired Bats

Bats are typically categorized into two main groups; megachiroptera (Old World Bats) and microchiroptera (Old and New World). The silver-haired bat, scientifically known as the Lasionycteris noctivagons, is a member of the microchiroptera group. Further classification places the silver-haired bat into the animalia kingdom (animals), the phylum chordate (vertebrates), the mammalian class (mammals), the order chiroptera (bats), and the Vespertilionidae family (vespertilionid bats) (Silver).

The silver-haired bat is a small bat that is recognized by the unique ≥silvery≤ highlights that are found in the hair on the bats back. Despite there being over 900 different species of bats within the microchiroptera group, the silver-haired bat has become the focus of much research in recent years as it has been found to carry a unique strain of rabies that has been determined to be the cause of numerous deaths over the last few decades. The silver-haired bat is a medium-sized bat that when fully grown can range in length from two and ¾ inches to four and ¼ inches and the bat can range in weight from four grams to twelve grams (ttu.edu). The silver-haired bat is one of the more common species of bats and has been found to live in suitable areas in Alaska, southern portions of Canada, the northern tip of Mexico and all but the southern most states in the United States (unm.edu). Unlike most other species of bats which tend to hibernate during the colder months when flying insects are unavailable, the silver-haired bat is one of the few species which migrates during the colder months. During the spring and summer the silver-haired bat has been found to be distributed quite evenly throughout...

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...d Bring Rabies." New York Times 19 Mar. 1999, Late ed., sec. F: 6+.LexisNexis. 21 Feb. 2004 .

Messenger, Sharon L., Charles E. Rupprecht, and Jean S. Smith. "Emerging Epidemiology of Bat-Associated Cryptic Cases of Rabies in Humans in the United States." Clinical Infectious Diseases 35.6 (2002): 738-748. 21 Feb. 2004 .

Nowak, Ronald M. Walker's Bats of the World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1994. 191-192.

Silver-haired Bat - Lasionycteris noctivagans . 26 Jan. 1998. The University of New Mexico . 21 Feb. 2004 .

Silver-haired Bat. Discover Life In America. 21 Feb. 2004 .

Silver-Haired Bat. National Science Research Laboratory. 21 Feb. 2004 .

Vespertilionidae - Bats. Discover Life In America. 21 Feb. 2004 .

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