Myotis lucifugus carissima Thomas, 1904
Little Brown Myotis
Specimens examined (27).—2 mi. N, 5 mi. W Ludlow, 1; NW 1/4 sec. 15, R. 5 E, T. 22 N, 4; NE 1/4 sec. 24, R. 8 E, T. 21 N, 20; 4 mi. S, 7 mi. W Ladner, 1; 10 mi. S, 5 mi. W Reva, 1.
This bat is widely distributed in northwestern South Dakota and was the only species of Myotis reported by Visher (1914:91) in his early natural history survey of Harding County. We took specimens from several of the wooded buttes and also in areas well-removed from timber; one was shot, for example, as it foraged over the Little Missouri River in the extreme western part of the county. On May 28, 1968, a barn was located in which an incipient maternal colony (several hundred adult females) roosted between double rafters supporting a metal roof. The owner of the barn, Robert Parks of Ralph, stated that bats have utilized this place as a summer roost for several years. The barn stands adjacent to the nearly treeless Big Nasty Creek, which flows through the hilly terrain of the northeastern section of the county.
Fourteen of 20 females taken from the colony each carried a single embryo (crown-rump lengths measured 2 to 11 with a mean of 5.4). The other six were not visibly pregnant upon gross examination but had enlarged uteri, possibly indicating recent implantation. Of the remaining females from Harding County, three collected on May 29 had enlarged uteri, whereas two collected in late June evidenced no gross reproductive activity. A male obtained May 29 had testes that measured 4.
Ectoparasites obtained from this species include chiggers, Leptotrombidium myotis (Ewing), a tick, Ornithodoros kelleyi Cooley and Kohls, fleas, Myodopsylla gentilis Jordan and Rothschild and M. insignis (Rothschild), and an unidentified species of mite.
Myotis volans interior Miller, 1914
Long-legged Myotis
Specimens examined (43).—2 mi. N, 5 mi. W Ludlow, 4; NW 1/4 sec. 15, R. 5 E, T. 22 N, 12; 10 mi. S, 5 mi. W Reva, 27.
The long-legged myotis is one of the commonest bats of the wooded buttes, accounting for almost half of all chiropterans taken in these areas. Most of our specimens were shot as they foraged among trees and over water in the evening; a few were captured in mist nets.