Latest news with #Myotishimalaicus
Time of India
09-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
New bat species discovered in Uttarakhand
Dehradun: A new bat species, the Himalayan long-tailed myotis (Myotis himalaicus), has been discovered in the high-altitude forests of Uttarakhand, particularly in the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, in what experts are calling a "major breakthrough for Himalayan biodiversity research. " The discovery, published in the latest edition of the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa, was made by a five-member team led by Uttam Saikia of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and Rohit Chakravarty of the Nature Conservation Foundation, as part of a reassessment of bat fauna in the western Himalayas. The species, believed to be native to the southern Himalayan slopes, was found in cedar, deodar, and pine forests and is considered rare. Other members of the research team include M A Laskar from St Anthony's College in Shillong, Gabor Csorba of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Budapest, and Manuel Ruedi from the Natural History Museum of Geneva. The species was described based on specimens collected in Uttarakhand in 2021 and in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in 1998. Csorba had collected the Pakistan specimen 27 years ago but had not identified it as a new species. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo According to the study, the newly-described species belongs to the Myotis frater complex: a group of morphologically-similar species distributed across eastern China, Taiwan, Siberia, Korea, Japan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. DFO of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, Tarun S, told TOI, "This is the first time the Himalayan long-tailed myotis has been validated, which is a major discovery. Such findings highlight the need for more intensive sampling in the Himalayan region of India." He added that local villagers will be involved in community-based programmes and trained for wildlife monitoring, as they are often the first to notice new species in the forest. The study also led to the first confirmed presence in India of the East Asian free-tailed bat (Tadarida insignis), a globally data-deficient species previously mistaken for the European free-tailed bat (Tadarida teniotis) in Indian literature. This species is distributed in the Himalayan region of India, as well as China, Taiwan, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula. The study also provided the first specimen-based confirmation of a few other bat species in India including Savi's pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii) and the Japanese greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus nippon), which were previously reported from the country based on questionable records or zoogeographic assumptions. ZSI director Dhriti Banerjee said that "this revisionary study brings the confirmed tally of Indian bat species to 135, a number expected to rise as research continues."
Miami Herald
06-06-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
‘Long'-tailed creature gets caught in trap in India forest. It's a new species
Under a cover of darkness, an 'elusive' creature with a 'long' tail flew through a mountain forest in northern India — or tried to, at least. But something enveloped it and trapped it. Scientists checked their net trap and found the 'soft' animal. It turned out to be a new species. A team of researchers visited over a dozen sites in Uttarakhand and the Western Himalayas between 2017 and 2021 to survey wildlife. The region is 'one of the richest and most diverse ecosystems on Earth,' but sections of it remain 'insufficiently' studied, according to a study published June 5 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa. During their surveys, researchers set up mist nets of various sizes and waited to see what flew into the traps, the study said. They also ventured into 'confined spaces like tunnels and caves' with butterfly nets to see what they could catch. 'Finally in 2021, a few days before the end of my last field season in Uttarakhand, Baseer Baniya returned from our nets with a Collared Scops-Owl bycatch in one cloth bag, and a bat that he couldn't identify in the other,' study co-author Rohit Chakravarty wrote in a June 5 Facebook post. 'As soon as I pulled the bat out of the bag,' Chakravarty knew it was an 'elusive' bat he'd seen twice before and had been searching for for years. Researchers took a closer look at the unfamiliar-looking bat, analyzed its DNA and realized they'd discovered a new species of mouse-eared bat: Myotis himalaicus, or the Himalayan long-tailed Myotis. Himalayan long–tailed Myotis bats are considered 'medium-sized,' reaching about 3.5 inches in length and weighing less than an ounce, the study said. They have 'delicate' feet and 'relatively long' thumbs ending in 'a strong but short claw.' Their heads have 'short' ears and 'rather delicate' teeth. A photo shows the new species' 'dense, soft and relatively long' hair. Overall, the mouse-eared bat's fur is 'dark brown' with some lighter hues mixed in and a paler golden-brown belly. Himalayan long–tailed Myotis bats were caught in net traps in 'a variety of forested habitats at elevations between' 4,900 to 7,500 feet and 'appears (to be) uncommon,' the study said. Much about the new species' lifestyle remains unknown. Researchers said they named the new species after the Himalayan mountains where it was first discovered. So far, Himalayan long–tailed Myotis bats have been found in Uttarakhand, India, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, locations nearly 500 miles apart. Uttarakhand is a province of northern India bordering Nepal and Tibet. The new species was identified by its DNA, tail length, body proportions, ears, skull shape, coloring and other subtle physical features, the study said. The research team included Uttam Saikia, Rohit Chakravarty, Gabor Csorba, Mostaque Ahmed Laskar and Manuel Ruedi. The team also surveyed about two dozen other bat species.
