Durga Das's Roundleaf Bat

About this species

Diet

Beetles, crickets and other small insects

Habitat

Caves, and beneath large granite boulders; forages in dry deciduous and thorn forest; 347–900m

Range

Endemic to India: Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), Kolar district (Karnataka) and Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh)

Khajuria's leaf-nosed bat, or Durga Das's leaf-nosed bat, is endemic to India. It has soft fur, brown to reddish brown above and whitish below, and the nose-leaf is covered in short stiff black hair. The tail projects beyond the tail membrane. It is known from villages in Jabalpur district in Madhya Pradesh and in Kolar district in Karnataka, and nine animals were found at Loyudhan Falls in Mirzapur district, Uttar Pradesh, in 1998 (Wikipedia, general species account).

It inhabits caves, and roosts in colonies of several animals in cave systems and below large granite boulders, sometimes with other bat species and sometimes alone. It feeds on beetles, crickets and other small insects, mainly foraging in dry tropical deciduous forest and tropical thorn forest, at 347–900 m. It has not been seen at its original type locality for almost 30 years, and it is threatened by habitat loss (Wikipedia, general species account).

Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)