New Bat Species Found in Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced the discovery of a new bat species in Minnesota.

“It’s very exciting to discover a new bat species in the state,” said DNR endangered species coordinator Rich Baker. “The evening bat’s historic range is limited to central Iowa. As our project proceeds, we’ll be keeping an eye out for more evening bats. For now, we don’t know if this was an isolated individual blown north in a storm, or if this species has indeed expanded its range into Minnesota.”

The Minnesota DNR has worked in in collaboration with Central Lakes College to discover the evening bat known as Nycticeius humeralis. The bat was caught back in early July when researchers from the DNR Nongame Wildlife Program and Central Lakes College were conducting a survey as part of a three-year project studying summer breeding habits of the state’s forest bats.

A bat genetics lab in Arizona confirmed that the bat caught was different than the seven other species identified in Minnesota.
The bat study is supported by the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund, the National Guard, and donations to the Nongame Wildlife Fund.