INTRODUCTION 



Ten species of bats are known to inhabit the Pryor Mountain area 

 (Hall, 1981; Shryer and Flath 1980; Hoffmann and Pattee, 1968; 

 Table 1) . Two of these, the spotted bat ( Euderma maculatum ) and 

 Townsend's big-eared bat (Plecotus townsendii ) , are listed under 

 category 2 as candidates for the Endangered Species Act (Federal 

 Register, 1987) . Plecotus townsendii and Euderma maculatum are 

 listed as sensitive species by the Forest Service (USFS) in 

 Region 1. The pallid bat, Antrozous pallidus . together with the 

 previous two species, is listed as a species of special concern 

 by the Montana Natural Heritage Program (MTNHP, 1989) . The first 

 specimen of Antrozous pallidus from Montana was collected by 

 Shryer and Flath (1980). Eight additional specimens were 

 observed during the summer of 1989. Plecotus townsendii has been 

 found in hibernacula during winter in the study area (D. Center, 

 per. comm.), and two specimens of Euderma maculatum are known 

 from the eastern edge of the Pryor Mountain's in the Bighorn 

 Canyon National Recreation Area (BCNRA) (T. Peters, per. comm.). 

 Neither Plecotus townsendii nor Euderma maculatum were observed 

 during 1989. 



TABLE 1. — Bats Occurring in the Pryor Mountains. 



Myotis lucifugus 

 Myotis ciliolabrum 

 Myotis evotis 

 Myotis volans 

 Eptesicus fuscus 

 Antrozous pallidus 

 Lasiurus cinereus 

 Lasionycteris noctivagans 

 Plecotus townsendii 

 Euderma maculatum 



little brown myotis 

 western small-footed myotis 

 long-eared myotis 

 long-legged myotis 

 big brown bat 

 pallid bat 

 hoary bat 

 silver-haired bat 

 Townsend's big-eared bat* ** 

 spotted bat ** 



* winter records only 



** not observed during the 1989 field season 



Tuttle and Stevenson (1978) suggest that those caves that possess 

 structural and elevational complexity and a wide thermal range 

 provide the greatest diversity of roosting sites. Tuttle (1979) 

 found that of 163 5 known caves in Alabama, only 2.4% were used by 

 gray bats ( Myotis qriscens ) in summer, and only .1% used in 

 winter. While caves are numerous in the Pryor mountains, most 

 are small and horizontal (Cambell, 1978) . The few large caves 

 found in the area may be of primary importance to bats. 



