Phillips's Long-fingered Bat

About this species

Size

Forearm 44–49mm

Habitat

Evergreen forest; discovered in the Mahabaleshwar region

Range

Endemic to the northern Western Ghats of India

Phillips's long-fingered bat is a medium-sized bent-winged bat with a forearm of 44–49 mm, endemic to the northern Western Ghats of India. It was formally described in 2022, after morphological and molecular analyses set it apart from other members of its genus, from a specimen collected in evergreen forest in the Mahabaleshwar region of Maharashtra. It is named after Phillips for his work on the mammals of Sri Lanka and South Asia (Wikipedia, general species account).

It has the features of its genus: an elongated second phalanx of the third digit, short rounded ears, a high forehead, a short broad muzzle and a slightly forward-curved, rounded tragus. The tail is about as long as the head and body combined. The fur is dense and soft, chocolate brown above and slightly paler below. The cached account gives no diet, roost or breeding information (Wikipedia, general species account).

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