Tricolored Bat

Open encyclopedia reference

The tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus) or American perimyotis is a species of microbat native to eastern North America. Formerly known as the eastern pipistrelle, based on the incorrect belief that it was closely related to European Pipistrellus species, the closest known relative of the tricolored bat is now recognized as the canyon bat. Its common name "tricolored bat" derives from the coloration of the hairs on its back, which have three distinct color bands. It is the smallest bat species in the eastern and midwestern US, with individuals weighing only 4.6–7.9 g (0.16–0.28 oz). This species mates in the fall before hibernation, though due to sperm storage, females do not become pregnant until the spring. Young are born helpless, though rapidly develop, flying and foraging for themselves by four weeks old. It has a relatively long lifespan, and can live nearly fifteen years. In the summer, females roost in small groups and males roost solitarily in tree foliage or beard lichen. It eats a diverse array of insects, foraging with a slow, erratic flight and navigating via echolocation.

Wikipedia contributors, Tricolored bat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:47:29.860365+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Perimyotis subflavus (F. Cuvier, 1832)

Name authority

(F. Cuvier, 1832)

Common name

Tricolored Bat

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Chiroptera

Family

Vespertilionidae

Genus

Perimyotis

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderChiroptera Blumenbach, 1779
12. suborderYangochiroptera Koopman, 1984
13. superfamilyVespertilionoidea Gray, 1821
14. familyVespertilionidae Gray, 1821
15. subfamilyVespertilioninae Gray, 1821
16. tribePerimyotini
17. genusPerimyotis Menu, 1984
18. speciesPerimyotis subflavus (F. Cuvier, 1832)

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 407 records assigned to Vespertilionidae.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=947299 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.

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:4F2FM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.