List of bats of the United States


Most of the many bat species found in the United States are insectivorous except for three flower eating species that migrate from Mexico and one that inhabits the Florida Keys.

Species

Bats belong to the biological order of Chiroptera. The bat families found in North America are Vespertilionidae, Molossidae, Mormoopidae and Phyllostomidae.

Vespertilionidae

In 2009 the Grandview Mine in the Grand Canyon National Park had gates added to support on-going bat research, preserve historic mine resources, and promote visitor safety.
The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, which crosses over Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas, is the world's largest urban bat colony.
Seventeen species of bats live in the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, including a large number of Mexican free-tailed bats. It has been estimated that the population of Mexican free-tailed bats once numbered in the millions but has declined drastically in modern times. The cause of this decline is unknown but the pesticide DDT is often listed as a primary cause.

State insignia

As of February 2011, at least three states had an official bat. Hawai'i named the Hawaiian hoary bat as the official state land mammal in April 2015. The general assembly of North Carolina considered a bill in 2007 that would have made Rafinesque's big-eared bat as its state bat. The bill passed 92-15, but died in the state senate.
StateState batScientific nameImageYear adopted
OklahomaMexican free-tailed batTadarida brasiliensis2006
TexasMexican free-tailed batTadarida brasiliensis1995
VirginiaVirginia big-eared batCorynorhinus townsendii virginianus2005