Big-eared Bat, Plecotus townsendii , 
in Western North Carolina 
Mary Kay Clark and David S. Lee 
North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, 
P.O. Box 27647, Raleigh, North Carolina 27611 
ABSTRACT . — This paper presents information on the occurrence 
and biology of the Virginia big-eared bat, Plecotus townsendii 
virginianus , the easternmost race of the species, in the mountains of 
North Carolina. The four sites in Avery County represent a southward 
range extension of 1 18 km. 
Although Plecotus townsendii has the largest geographical 
distribution of the three Recent Plecotus species occurring in North 
America, its distribution in the eastern United States is restricted and 
fragmented. Relict populations in the East appear to have been isolated 
as a result of the influence of post-Pleistocene climates (Handley 1959, 
Humphrey and Kunz 1976). Plecotus townsendii virginianus , the 
easternmost race, has been designated endangered in federal listings 
(Federal Register 44FR69208, 30 Nov. 1979). The species is a cave obli- 
gate previously known from only a few scattered karst areas in eastern 
Kentucky, eastern West Virginia, and extreme western Virginia. Here 
we present information on the occurrence and biology of the Virginia 
big-eared bat, Plecotus t. virginianus , in North Carolina, a range exten- 
sion of 118 km south of the nearest reported colony in Burkes Garden 
(elevation 975 m), Tazewell County, Virginia (Handley 1959). This col- 
ony is still extant. Figure 1 depicts the distribution of this bat as it is 
now understood. 
In 1982 we examined a bat identified as Plecotus rafinesquii 
donated to the North Carolina State Museum of Natural History 
(NCSM 3578) from the teaching collection of Applachian State 
University, Boone, N.C. This specimen actually represents Plecotus 
townsendii virginianus . At our request Charles O. Handley, Jr., National 
Museum of Natural History, examined the specimen and confirmed our 
identification. Prior to this discovery it was assumed that all big-eared 
bats in North Carolina were P. rafinesquii. We therefore decided to 
re-examine Plecotus populations reported from adjacent areas. On 25 
March 1984, with the assistance of Robert Currie, Office of Endangered 
Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Asheville Office), and Cato 
Holler, Jr., from the Flittermouse Grotto of the National Speleological 
Society, Old Fort, N.C., we visited a small cave (ca. 95 m in length) in 
Avery County and found about 20 wintering Plecotus townsendii. On 
the same day cavers informed us of a nearby cave that also housed 
big-eared bats. Lee and Currie visited this cave in late September 1984 
Brimleyana No. 13:137-140, July 1987 
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