An Annotated Checklist of Bats from Iowa

Early mention of bats in Iowa is found in publications by Allen (1869), Goding (1883), Osborn (1890, 1892), Van Hyning and Pellet (1910), Cory (1912), and Ruthven and Wood (1912). The occurrence in the state of some species listed in these early accounts evidently was not substantiated by specimens. Scott (1937) in his "Mammals of Iowa" reviewed the status of chiropterans in the state. In this paper, six species (Myotis keenii, Myotis lucifugus, Eptesicus u.rcus, Lasiurus horealis, Lasiurus cinereus, and Tadarida macrotis) were authenticated by actual specimens. Scott (1939) later added Pipistrellus subfiavus to the list of Iowa bats, and also identified as Myotis subulatus the one specimen assigned to M. keenii in 1937. This bat was incorrectly identified by Scott and is discussed in the account of Myotis lucifugus. In the past decade, Muir and Polder (1960) recorded Myotis sodalis from Iowa, Kunz (1966) reported Nycticeius humeralis, and Easterla and Watkins (1967) mentioned the first actual specimens of Lasionycteris noctivagans from the state. The first authentic record of Myotis keenii septentrionalis is reported in this paper. Thus, at this writing, a total of 10 species of bats is known certainly to occur in Iowa. In the past few years there has been increased interest in the study of bats in Iowa. We began investigations independently in the state in 1965 and combined our efforts in 1966. One of us (Kunz) is continuing research on the natural history of several species. In the course of recent work, many bats have been banded and released in an attempt to learn more of movements and longevity. Additionally, workers in adjacent states have banded thousands of bats, some of which already have been recaptured in Iowa. Persons finding banded bats are requested to read the band number carefully, and, if possible, release the bat unharmed. Band numbers should be reported to the Bird and Mammal Laboratories, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C. 20560, along with the exact date and place of capture. This paper represents a progress report of our studies and includes specimens obtained by us, those deposited in other institutions, records of