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.
