New species of bamboo-­dwelling bat found in Meghalaya

New species of bamboo-­dwelling bat found in Meghalaya

Subject: Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context:

• Scientists have discovered a new species of bamboo­ dwelling bat in Ri Bhoi dis­trict of Meghalaya.

Concept :

• The spe­cies, found near the forested patch of Nongkhyllem Wil­dlife Sanctuary, has been named
• The present discovery is the first report of a thick­ thumbed bat not only from India but also from South Asia.
• Thick ­thumbed bats of the genus Glischropus are cur­rently composed of four re­cognised species from Southeast Asia.
• Two recently collected Glischropus specimens from Meghalaya in northeastern India extend the known dis­tribution range of the genus westward into South Asia by ca. (approximately) 1,000 km.
• Bamboo ­dwelling bats are a particular kind of bats liv­ing in the internodes of bamboo with specialized morphological characters that help them to adapt to the life inside a bamboo.
• With this new discovery, the total number of bat spe­cies known from India stands at 131.

Meghalaya, a State with a small geographi­cal area, harbors the high­est bat diversity in the coun­try with 67 species, which is about 51% of total bat species in the country.