| Hardwicke's Woolly Bat | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Vespertilionidae |
| Genus: | Kerivoula |
| Species: | K. hardwickii |
| Binomial name | |
| Kerivoula hardwickii (Horsfield, 1824) |
|
Hardwicke's Woolly Bat (Kerivoula hardwickii) is a species of vesper bat in the Vespertilionidae family. It is found in China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
This small bat has been found roosting above the digestive fluid in the pitchers of the carnivorous plant Nepenthes rafflesiana var. elongata, which grows in the peat swamps and heath forests of Borneo.[1][2][3] This relationship appears to be mutualistic, with the plant providing shelter for the bats and in return receiving additional nitrogen input in the form of faeces. It has been estimated that the plant derives 33.8% of its total foliar nitrogen from the animals' droppings.[1]