Plecotus townsendii

Abstract

This species is the most variable and progressive member of the genus Plecotus (Handley, 1959). Adults of P. townsendii can most easily be distinguished from P. rafinesquii by hair color. The bases of dorsal hairs in P. townsendii are slate or gray with tips varying in color from pale cinnamon brown to blackish brown. The bases of ventral hairs are slate, gray, or brownish, and brownish or buff at the tips. The color distinctions between the bases and tips of dorsal and ventral hairs in P. townsendii are not as sharply contrasted as in P. rafinesquii (Handley, 1959; Jones, 1977). By contrast with P. mexicanus and P. rafinesquii the first upper incisor is usually simple in P. townsendii, except in P. t. ingens where it is bifid. Compared with P. mexicanus, P. townsendii is lighter in color and shows more contrast between the bases and tips of dorsal hairs.