New Mexico mammals

Canyon Bat in New Mexico

Parastrellus hesperus

Native to New Mexico S4 Apparently Secure in New Mexico

Not listed as nonindigenous in New Mexico by USGS NAS; native to its New Mexico range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Canyon bat clinging to weathered tree barkCanyon bat flying in daylight against blue skyCanyon bat roosting on a textured wallCanyon bat roosting on a wooden doorway
Photo: Mauricio Calderón · CC-BYCanyon bat clinging to weathered tree barkPhoto: Bob Miller · CC-BYCanyon bat flying in daylight against blue skyPhoto: William Harmon · CC-BYCanyon bat roosting on a textured wallPhoto: Sula Vanderplank · CC-BYCanyon bat roosting on a wooden doorway

Canyon Bat in New Mexico, by the numbers

Occasional in New Mexico 111th most recorded of 176 mammals logged in New Mexico

791 occurrence records
22 with iNaturalist photos
Apr 25, 2026 Last seen in New Mexico

Records from 2000–2026.

791 total records count every New Mexico occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 787 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Canyon Bat in New Mexico

Most sightings fall in July.

787 New Mexico occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly New Mexico records (table)
MonthRecords
January4
February4
March19
April22
May40
June130
July395
August111
September56
October4
November1
December1

Monthly canyon bat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in New Mexico, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in New Mexico, with recorded sightings peaking in July.

Occurrence map

Where Canyon Bat has been recorded in New Mexico

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 New Mexico records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Organ Mountains - Desert Peaks National Monument 24
State Trust Land 11
Carlsbad Caverns National Park 9
Chaco Culture National Historical Park 7
White Sands National Park 2
Fort Union National Monument 1
Oliver Lee State Park 1

Protected places with the most canyon bat sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in New Mexico

CountyRecords
Hidalgo County 447
Doña Ana County 66
Socorro County 50
San Juan County 43
Sierra County 38
Eddy County 34
Grant County 32
Otero County 20
Luna County 13
Lincoln County 11
Sandoval County 9
Catron County 5
7 other counties 23

The complete county distribution, spread across 19 New Mexico counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

The canyon bat is North America’s smallest bat, and New Mexico’s 791 records for it cluster in the rocky, sun-baked country of the southwest, around San Andres National Wildlife Refuge, Gila National Forest, and City of Rocks State Park, places with the cliffs and rock crevices it roosts in by day.

July accounts for 395 records, more than three times the June total, with August also elevated. Such a concentrated midsummer peak likely reflects the timing of bat surveys as well as seasonal detectability; it does not indicate that the population triples. NatureServe ranks the canyon bat S4, Apparently Secure, in New Mexico, while only 22 of the 791 records come from iNaturalist, showing how heavily this record depends on structured data rather than casual photographs.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Canyon bat clinging to weathered tree bark
Full species profile Canyon Bat Parastrellus hesperus Size 6.2–8 cm2.4–3.1 in Weight 3–6 g0.1–0.2 oz Lifespan Up to 6.1 yr View the full profile

More mammals in New Mexico in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"