Wroughton's Free-tailed Bat

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Wroughton's free-tailed bat

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Molossidae
Genus:	Otomops
Species:	O. wroughtoni

Binomial name

Otomops wroughtoni
(Thomas, 1913)

The Wroughton's free-tailed bat (Otomops wroughtoni) is a free-tailed bat formerly considered to be confined to the Western Ghats area of India, though it has also recently been discovered in remote parts of Cambodia. It is listed as a critically endangered species due to habitat loss and a restricted range.

[edit] India

Adjacent to the Madei Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa, in the state of Karnataka, is Barapede Caves, located between Krishnapur and Talewadi, sole home of Wroughton’s free-tailed bat, Otomops wroughtoni. Their habitat is threatened by limestone miners, timber contractors and the cave could be submerged if a nearby Madei river were dammed for a hydroelectric plant as proposed by the Karnataka Government. [1]

[edit] References

Chiroptera Specialist Group & CBSG CAMP Workshop, India (August 1997) (2000). Otomops wroughtoni. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006. Listed as Critically Endangered (CR B1+2c v2.3)

Walston, J. and P.J.J Bates. 2001. The discovery of Wroughton's free-tailed bat Otomops wroughtoni (Chiroptera: Molossidae) in Cambodia. Acta Chiropterologica, 3(2): 249-252.