Big Brown Bat
Eptesicus fuscus (Palisot de Beauvois, 1796)

Taxonomy

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class

Trogloxene

Realm

Terrestrial

Distribution

Range

Known from 49 counties across 10 states.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia

Counties

Alabama

Jackson, Lauderdale, Madison

Arkansas

Baxter, Benton, Franklin, Independence, Izard, Madison, Marion, Newton, Randolph, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, Washington

Georgia

Floyd, Polk, Walker

Illinois

Jackson, Union

Indiana

Monroe

Kentucky

Carter, Clark, Edmonson, Jackson, Madison, Meade, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Warren

Oklahoma

Adair, Delaware

Pennsylvania

Bucks, Fayette, Mifflin, Somerset

Tennessee

Bedford, Blount, Campbell, Carter, Cheatham, Claiborne, Cumberland, Montgomery, Sullivan, Union, Van Buren

Virginia

Lee

Conservation and management

IUCN Red List

LC Least Concern

Assessed in 2016.

NatureServe

G5 Secure

National ranks

United States

N5 Secure

Canada

N5 Secure

Subnational ranks

Kansas

S5 Secure

West Virginia

S5 Secure

Navajo Nation

S5 Secure

Indiana

S4 Apparently Secure

Rhode Island

S5 Secure

Connecticut

S5 Secure

South Carolina

S4 Apparently Secure

Pennsylvania

S4 Apparently Secure

Washington

S4 Apparently Secure

Utah

S4 Apparently Secure

Delaware

S5 Secure

Mississippi

S5B Secure (breeding), S5N Secure (non-breeding)

Vermont

S4 Apparently Secure

New York

S5 Secure

Idaho

S3 Vulnerable

Missouri

S4 Apparently Secure

California

SNR Unranked

Kentucky

S5 Secure

Oklahoma

SNR Unranked

Iowa

S4 Apparently Secure

Michigan

S5 Secure

North Carolina

S5 Secure

Illinois

S5 Secure

New Hampshire

S3 Vulnerable

District of Columbia

S4 Apparently Secure

Arizona

S4 Apparently Secure

Maine

S4 Apparently Secure

Nebraska

S5 Secure

Arkansas

S4 Apparently Secure

Massachusetts

S4 Apparently Secure

Virginia

S5 Secure

Maryland

S4 Apparently Secure

Georgia

S5 Secure

Minnesota

S3 Vulnerable

Nevada

S3 Vulnerable

Wisconsin

S4 Apparently Secure

Montana

S4 Apparently Secure

Louisiana

S3 Vulnerable

North Dakota

SNR Unranked

Florida

S3 Vulnerable

Colorado

S5 Secure

Ohio

SNR Unranked

Wyoming

S5 Secure

Tennessee

S5 Secure

New Jersey

S3 Vulnerable

Oregon

S4 Apparently Secure

New Mexico

S5 Secure

South Dakota

S5 Secure

Alabama

S5 Secure

Texas

S5 Secure

Northwest Territories

SU Unrankable

New Brunswick

S3 Vulnerable

Ontario

S4 Apparently Secure

British Columbia

S5 Secure

Alberta

S4 Apparently Secure

Manitoba

S4B Apparently Secure (breeding)

Quebec

S3 Vulnerable

Saskatchewan

S5 Secure

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

References

• Bailey, V. 1933. Cave Life of Kentucky. US Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington, DC, USA. 256 pp.
• Banta, A.M. 1907. The fauna of Mayfield's Cave. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 67: 1–114. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/60987.
• Brennan, J.M. & White, J.S. 1960. New records and description of chiggers (Acarina, Trombiculidae) on bats in Alabama. Journal of Parasitology 46: 346–350.
• Cassidy, J.J., O'Hagan, G.G., Sanders, J.S. & Harvey, M.J. 1979. Swarming of bats at two southern Ozark caves. Proceedings of the Tennessee Academy of Science 54: 73.
• Collins, J. & Sanders, C. 2016. A summary of bat-friendly gates and applications in Pennsylvania. In: Butchkoski, C.M., Reeder, D.M., Turner, G.G. & Whidden, H.P. (eds), Conservation and Ecology of Pennsylvania's Bats, pp. 201–208. The Pennsylvania Academy of Science, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
• Fenolio, D.B. 2014. 2014 Ozark aquatic subterranean wildlife surveys. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 21 pp.
• Fenolio, D.B., Niemiller, M.L., Slay, M.E. & Carter, E.T. 2017. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2017 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 17 pp.
• Fenolio, D.B., Niemiller, M.L., Slay, M.E. & Carter, E.T. 2018. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2018 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 25 pp.
• Godwin, J.C. 2008. Biological inventory of the cave and karst systems of The Nature Conservancy's Sharp-Bingham Mountain Preserve. Alabama Natural Heritage Program, Auburn, Alabama, USA. 40 pp.
• Harker, D.F., Jr. & Barr, T.C., Jr. 1979. Caves and associated fauna of Eastern Kentucky, Volume 3. Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, Frankfurt, Kentucky, USA. 130 pp.
• Heath, D.R., Saugey, D.A. & Heidt, G.A. 1986. Abandoned mine fauna of the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas: vertebrate taxa. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 40: 33–36.
• Hobbs, III., H.H. 1994. Assessment of the ecological resources of the caves of Russell Cave National Monument, Jackson County, Alabama and of selected caves at the Lookout Mountain Unit of Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park, Dade County, Georgia and Hamilton County, Tennessee. 200 pp.
• Johnson, J.S., Scafini, M.R., Sewall, B.J. & Turner, G.G. 2016. Hibernating bat species in Pennsylvania use colder winter habitats following the arrival of white-nose syndrome. In: Butchkoski, C.M., Reeder, D.M., Turner, G.G. & Whidden, H.P. (eds), Conservation and Ecology of Pennsylvania's Bats, pp. 181–199. The Pennsylvania Academy of Science, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
• Lamb, J. & Wyckoff, G. 2010. White-nose syndrome monitoring and response report for Tennessee. Tennessee Bat Working Group. 24 pp.
• Lewis, J.J. 2004. Interstate 66 karst faunal study. Environmental Impact Statement. 17 pp.
• Lewis, J.J. 2005. A biological inventory of caves of the Cumberland Plateau. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 156 pp.
• Lewis, J.J. & Lewis, S.L. 2005. Inventory of the subterranean fauna of Tims Ford State Park, Franklin County, Tennessee. Tennesee Natural Heritage Program, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 28 pp.
• Lewis, J.J. & Lewis, S.L. 2007. A biological reconnaissance of selected caves in the Highland Rim area of central Tennessee. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 42 pp.
• Linzey, D.W. 1995. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park - 1995 update. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 111: 1–81.
• Linzey, D.W. 2016. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 2016 revision. Southeastern Naturalist 15, Monograph 8: 1–93.
• McDaniel, V.R. & Gardner, J.E. 1977. Cave fauna of Arkansas: vertebrate taxa. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 31: 68–71. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol31/iss1/22.
• McGregor, S.W., Rheams, K.F., O'Neil, P.E., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1994. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. 226 pp.
• McGregor, S.W., O'Neil, P.E., Rheams, K.F., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1997. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama Bulletin 166: 1–198.
• McLaren, S.B. & Wible, J.R. 2016. Pennsylvania bats preserved as museum specimens: a storehouse of information. In: Butchkoski, C.M., Reeder, D.M., Turner, G.G. & Whidden, H.P. (eds), Conservation and Ecology of Pennsylvania's Bats, pp. 63–74. The Pennsylvania Academy of Science, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
• Trumbore, L.E., Reynolds, R.J., Thomas, S.C., Orndorff, W., Cramphorn, B., Gladstone, N.S., Harden, C.W., Lewis, J.J., Milne, M.A., Ober, K.A., Shear, W.A., Stephen, C.D.R. & Zigler, K.S. 2024. Cave biodiversity of Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 86: 13–24. doi:10.4311/2022LSC0116
• Wallace, R.L. 1984. Biological survey report of Great Smoky Mountains National Park caves. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S. National Park Service, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA. 33 pp.
• Wallace, R.L. 1990. Biological survey report of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park caves. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S. National Park Service, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA. 34 pp.
• Webb, D.W., Taylor, S.J. & Krejca, J.K. 1993. The biological resources of Illinois caves and other subterranean environments. Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA. 143 pp.
• Zigler, K.S., Niemiller, M.L., Stephen, C.D.R., Ayala, B.N., Milne, M.A., Gladstone, N.S., Engel, A.S., Jensen, J.B., Camp, C.D., Ozier, J.C. & Cressler, A. 2020. Biodiversity from caves and other subterranean habitats of Georgia, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 82: 125–167. doi:10.4311/2019LSC0125

How to cite this account

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.