Western yellow bat
{{Short description|Species of foliage-roosting bat}}
{{about|the bat species found in North America|the species with the same name found in Madagascar|Malagasy yellow bat}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Western yellow bat
| image = Lasiurus xanthinus.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Lasiurus
| species = xanthinus
| authority = Thomas, 1897
| range_map = Distribution of Lasiurus xanthinus.png
| range_map_caption = Geographic range of the western yellow bat
| synonyms = {{Species list
| Dasypterus ega xanthinus|Thomas, 1897
|Lasiurus xanthinus|Thomas, 1897}}
}}
The western yellow bat (Lasiurus xanthinus) is a species of vesper bat found in Mexico and the southwestern United States. This species roosts in trees such as Populus fremontii, Platanus wrightii, and Quercus arizonica.{{cite web |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103577/Lasiurus_xanthinus |title=Lasiurus xanthinus - Western Yellow Bat |work=InfoNatura |publisher=NatureServe |access-date=2009-07-04}} If available, the western yellow bat will use the dead fronds that encircle palm trees as a roosting site.{{cite book |first=Donald F. |last=Hoffmeister |year=1986 |title=Mammals of Arizona |publisher=Arizona Game and Fish Department |isbn=978-0-8165-0873-0 |pages=100–101}}
Taxonomy and etymology
It was described as a new subspecies of bat in 1897 by British zoologist Oldfield Thomas. He listed it as a subspecies of the southern yellow bat, with a trinomen of Dasypterus ega xanthinus.{{cite journal|last1=Thomas|first1=O.|year=1901| title=LXVI.—Descriptions of new bats and rodents from America| journal=The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology|series=6|volume=20|issue=120|page=544|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27415536|doi=10.1080/00222939709487398}} In 2015, Baird et al. argued that this species and other yellow bats should be in the genus Dasypterus,{{cite journal|doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyv135|title=Molecular systematic revision of tree bats (Lasiurini): Doubling the native mammals of the Hawaiian Islands|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=96|issue=6|pages=1255–1274|year=2015|last1=Baird|first1=Amy B|last2=Braun|first2=Janet K|last3=Mares|first3=Michael A|last4=Morales|first4=Juan Carlos|last5=Patton|first5=John C|last6=Tran|first6=Christina Q|last7=Bickham|first7=John W|doi-access=free}} though others have since argued that Dasypterus should remain a subgenus of Lasiurus.{{cite journal|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4379.3.8|pmid=29689956|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323182582|title=Separation of monophyletic groups into distinct genera should consider phenotypic discontinuities: The case of Lasiurini (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)|journal=Zootaxa|volume=4379|issue=3|pages=439–440|year=2018|last1=Novaes|first1=Roberto Leonan M|last2=Garbino|first2=Guilherme S. T|last3=Cláudio|first3=Vinícius C|last4=Moratelli|first4=Ricardo}} In 1988, Baker et al. argued that it should be considered a full species based on its genetics.{{cite journal|last1=Baker| first1= R. J.| last2= Patton| first2= J. C.| last3= Genoways| first3= H. H.| last4= Bickham| first4= J. W.| year=1988| title=Genic studies of Lasiurus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)| journal= Occasional Papers, the Museum, Texas Tech University| issue= 117| url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1096&context=museummammalogy}} In a 2017 follow-up to their 2015 study, Baird et al. again expressed that Aeorestes, Dasypterus, and Lasiurus should be separate genera comprising the tribe Lasiurini. They stated that the genetic distance of the three genera was much greater than observed between other bat genera, on average. In contrast to the average of 12.0% inter-generic divergence reported from another study on bats, Aeorestes and Dasypterus varied 18.79%; Aeorestes and Lasiurus varied 19.05%; and Dasypterus and Lasiurus varied 19.79%.{{cite journal|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0186085|pmid=29020097|pmc=5636129|title=Nuclear and mtDNA phylogenetic analyses clarify the evolutionary history of two species of native Hawaiian bats and the taxonomy of Lasiurini (Mammalia: Chiroptera)|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=12|issue=10|pages=e0186085|year=2017|last1=Baird|first1=Amy B.|last2=Braun|first2=Janet K.|last3=Engstrom|first3=Mark D.|last4=Holbert|first4=Ashlyn C.|last5=Huerta|first5=Maritza G.|last6=Lim|first6=Burton K.|last7=Mares|first7=Michael A.|last8=Patton|first8=John C.|last9=Bickham|first9=John W.|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1286085B|doi-access=free}} Its species name "xanthinus" is from Ancient Greek xanthos, meaning "pertaining to yellow."{{cite journal|last1=Stangl| first1= F. B.| last2= Christiansen| first2= P. G.| last3= Galbraith| first3= E. J.| year=1993| title= Abbreviated guide to pronunciation and etymology of scientific names for North American land mammals north of Mexico| journal= Occasional Papers, the Museum, Texas Tech University| issue= 154| pages= 1–28|url=http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/publications/opapers/ops/OP154.pdf}}
Description
File:Dasypterus ega xanthius.jpg
The western yellow bat is a small species, though it is larger than the southern yellow bat. Its fur is bright yellow. Individuals weigh approximately {{cvt|16|g|oz}}. Its forearm length is {{cvt|42-47|mm|in}}. Its dental formula is {{DentalFormula|upper=1.1.2.3|lower=3.1.2.3}} for a total of 32 teeth.{{cite book| editor-last=Ceballos| editor-first1= G.| last1=Aguilar| first1=S.| last2=Leon P.| first2=Livia| last3=Morales| first3=J.C.| year=2014| title=Mammals of Mexico| publisher= JHU Press| isbn=978-1421408439| pages=822–824}}
Range and habitat
Its range includes the Southwestern United States of Arizona, California, and New Mexico, in addition to parts of Mexico.
It is found in West and Central Mexico, as well as Baja California.
Conservation
As of 2017, it is evaluated as a least-concern species by the IUCN.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Vespertilionidae|V.|L.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q606219}}
Category:Bats of the United States
Category:Mammals described in 1897
Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot