Meghalaya Thick-thumbed Bat

About this species

Size

Forearm about 32–33mm

Habitat

Roosts in bamboo internodes; forages along forest edges and in cluttered vegetation

Range

Endemic to Meghalaya, near Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary in Ri Bhoi district

The Meghalaya thick-thumbed bat is a small thick-thumbed bat with a forearm of about 32–33 mm, dark brown fur on the back and distinctly separate beige fur on the belly. It is endemic to the Indian state of Meghalaya, where it was discovered during surveys near Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary in Ri Bhoi district; the first specimen was collected in 2020 by the zoologist Uttam Saikia of the Zoological Survey of India, and it was formally described in 2022 (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is the first thick-thumbed bat recorded from India and South Asia, extending the known range of the genus about 1,000 km westward. Like other members of its genus it has fleshy pads on the thumbs and soles that let it cling to the smooth inside of bamboo internodes, where it typically roosts. From its wing shape and slow, fluttering flight it is considered an edge-space aerial forager, hunting along forest edges and in cluttered vegetation (Wikipedia, general species account).

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