Canyon Bat (Parastrellus hesperus) – What's In A Name?

Naming creatures of the wild is no easy task. When Carolus Linnaeus (1707 - 1778) famously created the classification and naming conventions we still use today, animals were labeled using a mishmash of greek, latin and common names that varied from region to region.


The truth is that classifying and naming animals is still a great challenge to this day.


A case in point: the western pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus hesperus) is now to be called the canyon bat (Parastrellus hesperus). Biologists had good reason to do this in 2006 after genetic tests revealed that it was unrelated to the eastern pipistrelle.


I still stumble whenever I have to say the bat's name outloud...



Canyon Bat (Parastrellus hesperus)