Kon Tum Tube-nosed Bat

About this species

Size

Head and body 4cm; forearm 3.23cm; tail 3.85cm

Weight

5g

Habitat

High-elevation evergreen forest around 1,700m

Range

Known from Ngoc Linh, Kon Tum Province, Vietnam

The Kon Tum tube-nosed bat is a medium-sized Murina known originally from a single female. The holotype weighed 5 g, with a 4 cm head-and-body length, 3.23 cm forearm and 3.85 cm tail. Grey-brown upperparts carry scattered long golden guard hairs, a contrasting pale collar circles the neck, and dark-brown rings surround the eyes. Its domed skull and narrow nasal opening further distinguish it from similar tube-nosed bats (Son et al. 2015).

The type specimen was collected at about 1,700 m in evergreen forest within Ngoc Linh Nature Reserve, Kon Tum Province. Morphology, mitochondrial DNA and chromosome evidence supported its recognition as a distinct species, and for years that female was the sole confirmed animal. Vietnam's national assessment lists it as Nationally Endangered because of its extremely restricted known range and continuing highland-forest degradation. A second Vietnamese record, including the first described male, was reported in 2026 (Son et al. 2015; Vietnam Red Data Book 2024; Hang et al. 2026).

Description: Wildlife of Vietnam guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com)