Common Bat Terminology

Terms	Definitions
Acoustic Detector	A device that records the ultrasonic calls bats produce while flying and searching for food
Bat Box/House	A human-made structure designed to provide bats with a safe place to roost. Also called a bat house.
Calcar	A spur of cartilage extending from a bat’s ankle that helps support the uropatagium..
Colony	A group of bats that roost together. Colony size may range from a few individuals to thousands or more.
Echolocation	A method bats use to navigate and locate objects by producing high-frequency sounds and listening to the returning echoes.
Emergence	The period when bats leave their roost, usually around sunset, to forage or travel.
Guano	Bat droppings. Guano provides nutrients to soil and cave ecosystems and may accumulate beneath frequently used roosts.
Hibernaculum	A sheltered location where bats spend the winter, such as a cave, mine, building, or rock crevice. The plural is hibernacula.
Hibernation	A prolonged period of reduced activity, metabolism, and body temperature that allows bats to conserve energy during winter.
Insectivorous	Feeding primarily on insects. Most bat species found in South Dakota and throughout the United States are insectivorous.
Keeled Calcar	A calcar with a noticeable ridge, or keel, along part of its length. The presence or absence of a keel can help distinguish some bat species.
Maternity Colony	A group of female bats that gather during spring and summer to give birth and raise their young.
Migration	Seasonal movement between habitats or roosting areas. Some bats migrate long distances, while others move only short distances.
Patagium	The flexible skin membrane that forms a bat’s wings and extends between the body, limbs, fingers, and tail.
Pup	A young bat.
Roost	A place where bats rest, sleep, raise young, or spend the winter. Roosts may occur in caves, trees, buildings, bridges, mines, or rock crevices.
Swarming	Seasonal activity in which bats gather near caves, mines, or other underground sites, usually during late summer and fall. Swarming is often associated with mating and locating winter roosts.
Torpor	A temporary state of reduced body temperature, metabolism, and activity that allows bats to conserve energy. Torpor may last for several hours or longer.
Tragus	A small projection of cartilage inside a bat’s ear. Its size and shape are often useful for identifying bat species.
Ultrasonic	Describes sounds produced at frequencies above the range of human hearing, generally higher than 20 kilohertz. Bats use ultrasonic calls for echolocation, allowing them to navigate, detect objects, and locate prey in the dark.
Uropatagium	The membrane of skin that stretches between a bat’s hind legs and usually surrounds or includes the tail. It is also called the interfemoral membrane and may help with flight and capturing insects.
White-Nose Syndrome	A disease caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans that affects hibernating bats. It can cause bats to wake too frequently during winter and use stored energy too quickly.