| Abstract: | Species‐specific primers for portions of the mitochondrial DNA 16S ribosomal subunit gene were designed to identify bats of the family Vespertilionidae (Mammalia). Two fragments, each of 190 base pairs, were found to contain sufficient genetic variability to consistently resolve 10 of the 14 Pacific Northwest species included in this study. The remaining four species could be resolved into two sets of paired species that were unique from the other 10 species. These primers are demonstrably useful for purposes of surveys designed for species identification of bats, including using DNA extracted from guano collected from roost sites when bats are absent. |
