22 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Series 4, Volume 65, Supplement I 
under the U.S. Endangered Species Act). U.S. Forest Service (2005a,b): Sensitive Species. Inter¬ 
national Union for the Conservation of Nature (2017): Least Concern. NatureServe (2017): Round¬ 
ed Global Status G3, Vulnerable. 
State Designations: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (2005, 
2015a,b): Priority 1 Species of Greatest Conservation Need, Highest Conservation Concern. 
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (Fowler, 2015): Species of Greatest Conservation Need. 
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (2012): Species of Greatest Conservation 
Need. Georgia Department of Natural Resources (2015,2016): Rare, High Priority. Illinois Depart¬ 
ment of Natural Resources (2015): State Endangered. Indiana Department of Natural Resources 
(2006, 2015): Special Concern, Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Kentucky Department of 
Fish and Wildlife Resources (2013): Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Louisiana Depart¬ 
ment of Wildlife and Fisheries (2015): Tier III Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Maryland 
Department of Natural Resources (2005): Species of Greatest Conservation Need (not included in 
Maryland Department of Natural Resources 2016). Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries 
and Parks (2005, 2015): Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Missouri Department of Conser¬ 
vation (2016): Species of Conservation Concern, Critically Imperiled. North Carolina Wildlife 
Resources Commission (2014): Threatened. Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of 
Wildlife (2015): Species of Concern. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (2005, 
2016): Species of Greatest Conservation Need Tier II. South Carolina Department of Natural 
Resources (2005, 2015) State Endangered, Highest Priority Species of Greatest Conservation 
Need. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (2005,2015): Tier I Species of Greatest Conservation 
Need. Texas Parks and Wildlife (2015): State Threatened. Virginia Department of Game and Inland 
Fisheries (2005, 2015a, b): Tier I Species of Greatest Conservation Need, State Endangered. West 
Virginia Division of Natural Resources (2015): Priority 1 Species of Greatest Conservation Need. 
Description. — Extremely 
large ears distinguish Rafin- 
esque’s big-eared bat (Fig. 7) 
from all others in its range except 
eastern subspecies of Townsend’s 
big-eared bat. Unlike Townsend’s 
big-eared bat, the hairs on the 
feet extend beyond the toes and 
the ventral pelage is bicolored 
with dark, blackish bases and 
light tips (Sealander and Heidt, 
1990; Schmidly, 1991). Body 
mass ranges 7.9 to 9.5 grams in 
males and 7.9 to 13.6 grams in 
females, and forearm lengths 
range 39^46 millimeters (Jones, 
1977; Clark, 1990; Schmidly, 1991). A large gland is present on both sides of the snout between 
the eyes and nostrils. 
Distribution and Systematics. — Rafmesque’s big-eared bat occurs in the southeastern 
United States, including Florida north and westward to southern and western Virginia, southern 
West Virginia, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, southern Missouri, eastern Okla¬ 
homa, and eastern Texas (Fig. 8). A state-by-state review of surveys for the presence of this species 
was provided by Clark (2003), with a detailed update by Bayless et al. (2011). Genetic analysis 
Figure 7. Rafmesque’s big-eared bat, Corynorhinus rafinesquii (photo by 
J. Scott Altenbach). 
