Blanford's bat (''Hesperoptenus blanfordi''), also known as the least false-serotine bat, is a species of vesper bat. It can be found in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia,

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

, Malaysia,

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

and Thailand, where it lives in various different forested habitats. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of " least concern".

Taxonomy

Blanford's bat was first described in 1877 by the Irish zoologist and army surgeon

George Edward Dobson George Edward Dobson FRS FLS FZS (4 September 1848 at Edgeworthstown, County Longford, Ireland – 26 November 1895) was an Irish zoologist, photographer and army surgeon. He took a special interest in bats, describing many new species, and som ...

, who served in India and was an expert on small mammals and especially bats. He named it "''Hesperoptenus blanfordi''" in honour of the British geologist and zoologist William Thomas Blanford who was a member of the Indian Geological Survey and later published works on the fauna of India.

Description

Blanford's bat is a small vesper bat with a robust body and short fore-arm, in length. The head is pointed and the second incisor is inwardly displaced. The dark brown fur is smooth and glossy, and there is a pad of thickened, dark-coloured skin at the base of the thumb.

Distribution and habitat

Blanford's bat is found in mainland southeast Asia and Borneo. Its range includes eastern Myanmar, Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. It is also present in some parts of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and it has been observed in a few localities in eastern Borneo. It is a rather uncommon species of bat and is found in lowland humid forests, dryer dipterocarp forests, hill forests and limestone caves. It often occurs near streams and small rivers and lives in small colonies of up to ten individuals.

Status

Blanford's bat has a wide range and is presumed to have a moderate-sized total population. The population trend is unknown, but no particular threats to the animal have been detected and it seems to be adaptable to a range of habitats. It is present in a number of

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

s and any decline in total population is likely to be at a low rate, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of " least concern".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q305396 Hesperoptenus Bats of Southeast Asia Bats of Indonesia Bats of Malaysia Taxa named by George Edward Dobson Mammals described in 1877 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot