NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Chilean Red Bat
Lasiurus varius (Poeppig, 1835)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The cinnamon red bat (Lasiurus varius) is a species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It was first described from a specimen that had been collected in Chile. For more than one hundred years after its initial description, it was largely considered a synonym of the eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis). From the 1980s onward, it was frequently recognized as distinct from the eastern red bat due to its fur coloration and differences in range. It has deep red fur, lacking white "frosting" on the tips of individual hairs seen in other members of Lasiurus. It has a forearm length of 39–42 mm (1.5–1.7 in) and a weight of 9.5–11.0 g (0.34–0.39 oz). As in all members of its genus, females have four teats. Little is known about its reproduction, though females may give birth in winter to an average litter of two young. The young are born with their eyes closed, opening them by two weeks of age. Individuals roost solitarily or in small family groups. It is insectivorous, foraging for prey like moths and beetles using echolocation.
Wikipedia contributors, Cinnamon red bat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:05:36.379009+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lasiurus varius (Poeppig, 1835)
- Name authority
- (Poeppig, 1835)
- Common name
- Chilean Red Bat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Chiroptera
- Family
- Vespertilionidae
- Genus
- Lasiurus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderChiroptera Blumenbach, 1779
- suborderYangochiroptera Koopman, 1984
- superfamilyVespertilionoidea Gray, 1821
- familyVespertilionidae Gray, 1821
- subfamilyVespertilioninae Gray, 1821
- tribeLasiurini Tate, 1942
- genusLasiurus Gray, 1831
- speciesLasiurus varius (Poeppig, 1835)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lasiurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Red BatLasiurus atratus Handley, 1996 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-faced Red BatLasiurus castaneus Handley, 1960 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Minor Red BatLasiurus minor Miller, 1931 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pfeiffer's Red BatLasiurus pfeifferi (Gundlach, 1861) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Seminole BatLasiurus seminolus (Rhoads, 1895) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Desert Red BatLasiurus frantzii (Peters, 1871) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eastern Red BatLasiurus borealis (Müller, 1776) | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Jamaican Red BatLasiurus degelidus Miller, 1931 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blackish Red BatLasiurus ebenus Fazzolari-Corrêa, 1994 | VespertilionidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Nysticeus varius Poeppig, 1835 Poeppig, 1835 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=946133 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3SGW2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.