New species of long-fingered bat discovered in India, Sri Lanka
PremiumA new species of bat has been discovered in India and Sri Lanka by a team of 13 renowned researchers using DNA barcoded specimens
After the discovery of a thick-thumbed bat species in Meghalaya, the officials have reported that an international team of researchers has found a new species of long-fingered bats in India and Sri Lanka. Tharaka Kusuminda of University of Rohana, Sri Lanka led the team and named the new species of long-fingered bats as Miniopterus phillipsi.
The name of the species was attributed to W W A Philips (1892-1981), a noted zoologist, in recognition of his contributions to studies on the mammals of Sri Lanka and South Asia.
The specimens for this species were collected from Idulgashinna cave in Uva Province in Sri Lanka and are now deposited in the Natural History Museum of the neighbouring country.
The research that took 3 years to complete in Sri Lanka and India was initiated in 2019 in Sri Lanka.
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The discovery has been published in Acta Chiropterologica, an international scientific journal, under the title 'DNA Barcoding and Morphological Analyses Reveal a Cryptic Species of Miniopterus from India and Sri Lanka', on Friday.
During investigations, researchers found that the population of long-fingered bats in Robber's cave in Mahabaleshwar in the Western Ghats of India also belongs to this species which was earlier mistaken as Eastern bent-winged bats, Kusuminda said.
The long-fingered bats belong to the family Miniopterus and are a part of a large group comprising at least 40 species worldwide.
They have similar morphology and overlapping dimensions rendering species identification problematic, he added.
Researchers DNA barcoded the specimens from India and Sri Lanka and compared them with all other Asian members of this group and found conclusive distinction among them. Strong evidence pointed towards the specimens to be belonging to a distinct species, the scientist said.
Besides, researchers also analysed the morphological and anatomical features of the new species with the congeners occurring in India and Sri Lanka and found that the new species is indeed distinct, Kusuminda said.
He further added, “The Long-fingered bats are obligatory cave and tunnel dwellers living in large colonies and this new species is also no exception."
While in Sri Lanka it is relatively widespread, more studies are needed to determine its exact distribution range in India.
13 renowned scientists were involved in this particular research – six from Sri Lanka and one each from India, Russia, Switzerland, Hungary, the UK, and the USA.
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A team of scientists had recently discovered a new species of thick-thumbed bat from a bamboo forest in Meghalaya and named it after the state.
The discovery of Glischropus meghalayanus was published in Zootaxa, a prominent taxonomic journal.
(With inputs from PTI)
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