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Few studies have been done on milk composition of chiropteran species, especially within the family Vespertilionidae. The objective of this research was to describe the milk composition of the pallid bat, Antrozous pallidus, a vespertilionid species of bat whose milk composition has yet to be studied. Antrozous pallidus milk composition was described using milk samples collected between May and June 2019 in Brewster and Presidio County, Texas. Samples from 13 lactating females were collected, pooled, and analyzed to determine percentages of dry matter, protein, carbohydrate, and fat. Antrozous pallidus milk composition was determined to be an average of 24.1% dry matter, 10.1% fat, 9.7% protein, and 3.4% carbohydrates. The low water, high fat, protein, and energy content of this milk is not significantly different from other insectivorous and vespertilionid species, suggesting diet and/or phylogeny may be influencing the milk composition in this study. |
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