Eastern Red Bat

About the Eastern Red Bat

The eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) is a species of microbat in the family Vespertilionidae. Eastern red bats are widespread across eastern North America, with additional records in Bermuda. It was described in 1776 by German zoologist Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller. He initially placed it in the genus Vespertilio, with the name Vespertilio borealis. It was not placed into its current genus Lasiurus until the creation of the genus in 1831 by John Edward Gray. The generic name "Lasiurus" is derived from the Greek lasios ("hairy") and oura ("tail"); its species name "borealis" is Latin in origin, meaning "northern." Of the species in its genus, the eastern red bat is most closely related to other red bats, with which they form a monophyly. Its closest relatives are the Pfeiffer's red bat (Lasiurus pfeifferi), Seminole bat (L. seminolus), cinnamon red bat (L. varius), desert red bat (L. blossevillii), saline red bat (L. salinae), and the greater red bat (L. atratus).

The eastern red bat has distinctive fur, with males being brick or rusty red, and females being a slightly more frosted shade of red. Both male and female eastern red bats... Wikipedia →