The painted bat (''Kerivoula picta'') or painted wooly bat
is a species of
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 ...
in the family
Vespertilionidae
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 ...
. It is also known as "butterfly bat" (''projapoti badur''),
"rongin chamchika" (coloured bat) or "komola-badami chamchika" (orange-brown bat) in
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
.
Habitat
It is found in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
(in forested areas, especially in
Dhaka Division
Dhaka Division ( bn, ঢাকা বিভাগ, ''Ḑhaka Bibhag'') is an administrative division within Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of the Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains a populati ...
),
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...
,
Burma
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 Wells explai ...
,
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 Thailan ...
,
China,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
,
Sri Lanka,
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 b ...
and
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 ...
. It is found in arid woodland and is fairly uncommon
but widespread.
The bat had been spotted for the last time in Bangladesh in 1888 according to ''
The Fauna of British India
''The Fauna of British India'' (short title) with long titles including ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma'', and ''The Fauna of British India Including the Remainder of the Oriental Region'' is a series of scientific books th ...
'' by
W.T. Blanford.
On Bangladesh Red List published in 2015 by
IUCN and the
Forest Department of Bangladesh, the bat was described as "data deficient".
The species was thought to have been "extinct" before rediscovering it after 133 years in
Madhupur National Park in June 2021.
Description
The body and tail are the same length. The body length is 3 to 5.5 cm. The tail length is 3 to 5.5 cm as well. The wingspan is 18–30 cm.
Weight is about 5g.
''Kerivoula picta'' is bright orange or scarlet, with black wings and orange along the fingers. As in other species of ''
Kerivoula'', ''K. picta'' possesses long, wooly, rather curly hair, a small, fragile form, large funnel-shaped ears and 38 teeth. Ears are naked, relatively large with rounded tip.
Tragus is long, narrow, and transparent. Muzzle is very hairy with naked nostrils. Older males are brighter than females.
Behavior
Painted bats are nocturnal or crepuscular.
Small groups of these animals are often found in unusual roosting sites such as in the suspended nests of weaver finches and sunbirds, banana tree leaves, or under the eaves of huts.
Painted bats have been known to roost in pairs or in groups of only 2-6 bats.
They apparently aestivate during the day, as they are relatively sluggish when disturbed. The bright and broken coloration of these bats may be a form of camouflage to protect them, as they have been reported to blend in with dried leaves and flowers when they roost.
They live on small insects.
Hunting flights last around 1–2 hours.
Not very much is known about their reproduction and lifespan. However, they form nuclear family units consisting of a mother, a father, and an offspring. They breed between June to August. Female bats give birth to a single offspring.
The echolocation characteristics and the presence of a large interfemoral membrane, a characteristic feature of family Vespertilionidae, suggest that K. picta is an aerial hawker, i.e. capturing insects during flight using the interfemoral membrane as a net.
Echolocation
Echolocation for this species is relatively similar to other species of ''Kerivoula''. Recorded calls were broadband and steep calls ranging from 156.9 kHz to 41.5 kHz. Flight and resting echolocation calls differed every way except the peak frequency. Bats with higher starting frequencies appear to be better at catching prey close to clutter than those with lower frequencies. This is significant considering the amount of debris that is normally around their habitat.
[Sripathi, K., H. Raghuram, and N. Thiruchenthil. "Echolocation Sounds of the Painted Bat Kerivoula Picta (Vespertilionidae)." Current Science 91.9 (2006): 1145-147. Print.]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q647798
Kerivoulinae
Bats of Asia
Bats of China
Bats of India
Bats of Indonesia
Bats of Malaysia
Bats of Southeast Asia
Mammals of Bangladesh
Mammals of Nepal
Mammals of Sri Lanka
Mammals of Vietnam
Least concern biota of Asia
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Mammals described in 1767
Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas