UPSC Articles
Meghalay yields India’s first bamboo-dwelling bat
Part of: GS Prelims and GS – III – Environment; Biodiversity
In news
- Meghalaya has yielded India’s first bamboo-dwelling bat with sticky discs.
- The count of the bats in India has reached now to 130.
Key takeaways
- The disc-footed bat (Eudiscopus denticulus) was recorded near the Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary.
- The extent of adaptation for bamboo habitat in this species is not seen in the others.
- The flattened skull and sticky pads enabled the bats to roost inside cramped spaces, clinging to smooth surfaces such as bamboo internodes.
- The disc-footed bat was also found to be genetically very different from all other known bats bearing disc-like pads.
- Scientists analysed the very high frequency echolocation calls of the disc-footed bat, which was suitable for orientation in a cluttered environment such as inside bamboo groves.
- It has raised Meghalaya’s bat count to 66, the most for any State in India.
- It has also helped add a genus and species to the bat fauna of India.
