Beelzebub's tube-nosed bat (''Murina beelzebub''), also Beelzebub bat or demon bat, is a species in the

vesper bat Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat famili ...

family Vespertilionidae, found in the Greater Mekong region of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

, specifically the

Quảng Trị Quảng Trị () is a district-level town in Quảng Trị Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is second of two municipalities in the province after the provincial capital Đông Hà. History The Sino-Vietnamese name Quả ...

and Gia Lai provinces of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. They have

tube Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * ''The Tube'' (TV series), a music related TV series by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a ...

-shaped

nostrils A nostril (or naris , plural ''nares'' ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbi ...

(hence the name) which assist them with their feeding.

Discovery and etymology

The Beelzebub bat is one of 126 new species found in the Greater Mekong region described in 2011. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...

was collected in November 2007 in Bac Huong Hoa Nature Reserve, which is located in

. There were two other tube-nosed bats found in Southeast Asia in 2011: Ashy-gray tube-nosed bat (''Murina cineracea'') and Walston's tube-nosed bat (''Murina walstoni''). All three species are small for bats and ''M. beelzebub'' is medium-sized for a ''Murina'' bat. These three new tube-nosed bats were discovered by a team from the

Hungarian Natural History Museum The Hungarian Natural History Museum ( hu, Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum) in Budapest, dating back to 1802, houses the largest natural history collections of Hungary and the region. History of the museum Foundation In 1802, Count Fere ...

(HNHM) and

Fauna and Flora International Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is an international conservation charity and non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting the planet's threatened wildlife and habitats. Founded in 1903, it is the world's oldest international conserv ...

(FFI). Vespertilionid bats have many

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. Eight new species of

s were found in Southeast Asia between 2005-2009. The use of DNA technology has proved very useful in differentiating between the various species of ''Murina''. Based on its

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

, it was placed into the ''suilla'' species group of the genus ''Murina''. Members of the ''suilla'' group include: * Little tube-nosed bat (''Murina aurata'') * Bala tube-nosed bat (''Murina balaensis'') * Ashy-gray tube-nosed bat (''Murina cineracea'') * Eleryi's tube-nosed bat (''Murina eleryi'') * Slender tube-nosed bat (''Murina gracilis'') * Murina harpioloides *

Greater tube-nosed bat The greater tube-nosed bat (''Murina leucogaster'') is a species of bat. An adult greater tube-nosed bat has a body length of 4.2-5.7 cm, a tail length of 3.6-4.1 cm, and a wing length of 3.7-4.4 cm. The species is found in India ...

(''Murina leucogaster'') * Murina recondita * Brown tube-nosed bat (''Murina suilla'') * Scully's tube-nosed bat (''Murina tubinaris'') * Ussuri tube-nosed bat (''Murina ussuriensis'') * Walston's tube-nosed bat (''Murina walstoni'') It was named "Beelzebub" and "demon" because of its coloration and fierce behavior, alluding the use of the term "

Beelzebub Beelzebub ( ; he, ''Baʿal-zəḇūḇ'') or Beelzebul is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshipped in Ekron, and later adopted by some Abrahamic religions as a major demon. The name ''Beelzebub'' is associated with the Can ...

" as reference to the underworld in Christian texts.

Description

This bat is small enough to fit in a person's hand, weighing . Its nostrils are tube-shaped. Its color pattern is unique for the regional habitat: a white underbelly, black head, and dark back. It lacks the golden guard hairs so common in other members of the genus ''Murina''. Its behavior tends to "flight" before "fight" and it is also quite shy, avoiding human contact. However, if captured they can be very fierce. Its forearm is approximately long. Its tail is long, and its hind foot is long. Its ears are long, and its tragus is long. Its

dental formula Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolog ...

is , for a total of 34 teeth.

Biology and ecology

As of 2013, there are still few details known about them and their ecology. Like other members of its genus, it is insectivorous.

Range and habitat

It lives in tropical forests of the

Greater Mekong Subregion The Greater Mekong Subregion, (GMS) or just Greater Mekong, is a trans-national region of the Mekong River basin in Southeast Asia. The region is home to more than 300 million people. It came into being with the launch of a development program i ...

. It has been documented in

Kon Ka Kinh National Park Kon Ka Kinh National Park ( vi, Vườn quốc gia Kon Ka Kinh) is a national park of Vietnam, established by the decision (167/2002/QĐ-TTg) on November 25, 2002 of the then Prime Minister, Phan Văn Khải. Kon Ka Kinh National Park is a prior ...

and Bac Huong Hoa Nature Reserve, both of which are in

. It is suspected there are many more species of bats yet to be discovered in the region. It has been captured at elevations of and above sea level.

Conservation

They are threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

via deforestation. As it is a relatively new species, it has not yet been evaluated by the IUCN.

Discovery and etymology

Description

Biology and ecology

Range and habitat

Conservation

See also

References

Further reading