Bat Species in Parks

More than 50 unique species of bats live in national parks! And they are indeed unique! Some eat insects, others pollinate plants or spread seeds of the fruit they eat. Many are small, weighing less than 10 grams. Others are huge, like the Pacific Flying Fox weighing in at over 2 pounds!

On this page, explore bat species in parks in three ways:
  1. Meet the bats by clicking through a photo gallery of the 50+ species found in parks.
  2. Select a park and see a species list of bats found in that park.
  3. See thefull species list of bats found in parks.

Meet the Bats!

Bat Species by Park

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Full Species List of Bats Found in Parks

Scientific Name Common Name # Parks
1 Eptesicus fuscus Big brown bat 178
2 Lasiurus cinereus Hoary bat 127
3 Myotis lucifugus Little brown myotis 123
4 Lasionycteris noctivagans Silver-haired bat 108
5 Lasiurus borealis Eastern red bat 90
6 Tadarida brasiliensis Mexican free-tailed bat 75
7 Myotis californicus California myotis 74
8 Corynorhinus townsendii Townsend's big-eared bat 73
9 Myotis volans Long-legged myotis 69
10 Perimyotis subflavus Tricolored bat 69
11 Myotis ciliolabrum Western small-footed myotis 67
12 Myotis yumanensis Yuma myotis 66
13 Myotis thysanodes Fringed myotis 65
14 Antrozous pallidus Pallid bat 61
15 Myotis evotis Western long-eared myotis 56
16 Myotis septentrionalis Northern long-eared myotis 56
17 Parastrellus hesperus Canyon bat 53
18 Nycticeius humeralis Evening bat 37
19 Nyctinomops macrotis Big free-tailed bat 31
20 Euderma maculatum Spotted bat 30
21 Lasiurus blossevillii Western red bat 21
22 Myotis leibii Eastern small-footed myotis 16
23 Eumops perotis Western mastiff bat 14
24 Idionycteris phyllotis Allen's big-eared bat 13
25 Myotis grisescens Gray myotis 13
26 Myotis velifer Cave myotis 12
27 Lasiurus seminolus Seminole bat 11
28 Myotis sodalis Indiana myotis 11
29 Corynorhinus rafinesquii Rafinesque's big-eared bat 10
30 Myotis auriculus Southwestern myotis 9
31 Nyctinomops femorosaccus Pocketed free-tailed bat 8
32 Choeronycteris mexicana Mexican long-tongued bat 6
33 Lasiurus cinereus semotus Hawaiian hoary bat 6
34 Lasiurus intermedius Northern yellow bat 6
35 Myotis austroriparius Southeastern myotis 6
36 Lasiurus xanthinus Western yellow bat 5
37 Macrotus californicus California leaf-nosed bat 5
38 Leptonycteris yerbabuenae Lesser long-nosed bat 4
39 Mormoops megalophylla Ghost-face bat 2
40 Artibeus jamaicensis Jamaican fruit-eating bat 1
41 Brachyphylla cavernarum Antillean fruit-eating bat 1
42 Corynorhinus townsendii ingens Ozark big-eared bat 1
43 Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus Virginia big-eared bat 1
44 Diphylla ecaudata Hairy-legged vampire bat 1
45 Eumops floridanus Florida bonneted bat 1
46 Eumops underwoodi Underwood's mastiff bat 1
47 Molossus molossus Pallas's mastiff bat 1
48 Myotis occultus Arizona myotis 1
49 Noctilio leporinus Greater bulldog bat 1
50 Stenoderma rufum Red fig-eating bat 1
51 Leptonycteris nivalis Mexican long-nosed bat 1
52 Pteropus samoensis Samoan flying fox 1
53 Pteropus tonganus Pacific flying fox 1


These species of bats used to live in War in the Pacific National Historic Park in Guam, but they have been extirpated (locally extinct):

Pteropus tokudae Guam flying fox
Pteropus mariannus Marianus flying fox
Emballonura semicaudata Polynesian sheath-tailed bat

According to range maps of some bats, it's possible for these species to be in national parks, but they haven't been recorded:

Myotis keenii Keen's myotis
Mormoops blainvillii Antillean ghost-faced bat
Pteronotus parnellii Common mustached bat
Pteronotus quadridens Sooty mustached bat
Erophylla bombifrons Brown flower bat
Natalus mexicanus Mexican greater funnel-eared bat
Lasiurus ega Southern yellow bat
Lasiurus minor Little red bat

For a detailed report on species of bats in national parks, read A macroecological perspective on strategic bat conservation in the US National Park Service by lead author and NPS Ecologist Tom Rodhouse.

Last updated: October 24, 2024

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