2006/02/01 by Frederick Grady, Storrs L. Olson · 2 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Bat Biology and Ecology Studies #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1644/05-mamm-a-179r1.1
openalex publication_date 2006/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Fossil remains of bats have been recovered from caves and fissures in Bermuda dating from middle Pleistocene to late Holocene. Three bones from 2 different localities are identified as eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus), which was not recorded from Bermuda until 2004. Remains of an individual eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis), from a 400,000-year-old beach deposit, imply that the migratory pattern in this species, a regular transient in Bermuda today, may have been established by the middle Pleistocene. Fairly common remains of Lasiurus, either L. borealis or L. seminolus, were found in 5 cave deposits. In 1 finely stratified sequence, this bat does not appear until the onset of the last glacial period, suggesting that a resident population may have become established at that time. A strong taphonomic bias, indicated by the preponderance of large wing bones, probably of females, may be the result of hawk predation.