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 is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, specifically the Quảng Trị and Gia Lai provinces of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. They have

tube Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a Japanese rock band * Tube & Berger, the alias of dance/electronica producers Arndt Rör ...

-shaped

nostrils A nostril (or naris , : 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 turbinates, ...

(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 (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

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 () 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 Ferenc Széchényi offered his library and h ...

(HNHM) and

Fauna and Flora International Fauna & Flora is an international nature conservation charity and non-governmental organization based in the United Kingdom. Founded as the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire, the society created some of the first ga ...

(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 and 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 Indi ...

(''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 Ba'al Zabub , Ba'al Zvuv or Beelzebub ( ; ''Baʿal-zəḇūḇ''), also spelled Beelzebul or Belzebuth, and occasionally known as the Lord of the Flies, is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshipped in Ekron, and later adopted ...

" 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-physiology ...

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 A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

Range and habitat

It lives in tropical forests of the Greater Mekong Subregion. It has been documented in Kon Ka Kinh National Park 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 or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

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

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

Discovery and etymology

Description

Biology and ecology

Range and habitat

Conservation

See also

References

Further reading