The Kachin woolly bat (''Kerivoula kachinensis'') is a species of bat found in
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 United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
.
Taxonomy and etymology
It was initially
described as a new species in 2004.
Its
species name "''kachinensis''" is derived from
Kachin State
Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...
—the state in
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 ...
where it was first documented.
Description
It is a relatively large member of
its genus, with a forearm length of .
Individuals weigh approximately .
Its fur is grayish-brown.
Its ears are large and hairless.
The
tragus is long and narrow, at .
Its tail is long.
Its skull has a flattened appearance.
Its
dental formula is for a total of 38 teeth.
Biology and ecology
It is
nocturnal
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...
, roosting during the day and foraging at night.
The state of its flattened skull led some researchers to hypothesize that during the day it roosts in small, constricted spaces.
Range and habitat
It was first documented in Myanmar in 2004, but its range was quickly expanded to
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
,
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 ...
, and
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
after documentation in 2006.
Conservation
It is currently assessed as
least concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
by the
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
—its lowest conservation priority.
It meets the criteria for this assessment because it has a large range, no major threats to this species have been identified, and it is not likely to be declining quickly.
References
External links
An image of this species
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2636490
Mammals described in 2004
Bats of Southeast Asia
Kerivoulinae