Wroughton's Free-tailed Bat

Wroughton's free-tailed bat
Conservation status
Scientific classification
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 Northeast India and in a remote part of Cambodia[1]. It is listed as a critically endangered species due to habitat loss and a restricted range[2]

In India,the species is found in two locations in the southern Indian state of Karnataka and in Meghalaya in Northeast India. In Karnataka, it is found in the Barapede Caves, located between Krishnapur and Talewadi, in Belgaum district, adjacent to the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary near the state of Goa. In Meghalaya, it was recently discovered in a cave near Nongrai village, Shella confederacy[3]. Their habitat is threatened by limestone miners, timber contractors and the cave could be submerged if a nearby Mahadeyi river were dammed for a hydroelectric plant as proposed by the Karnataka Government. [1]

References

  1. ^ Walston, J. and Bates, PJJ. 2001. The discovery of Wroughton's free-tailed bat Otomops wroughtoni (Chiroptera: Molossidae) in Cambodia. Acta Chiropterologica, 3(2): 249-252
  2. ^ Chiroptera Specialist Group & CBSG CAMP Workshop, India (August 1997) (2000). Otomops wroughtoni. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 10 May 2006. Listed as Critically Endangered (CR B1+2c v2.3)
  3. ^ Thabah, A. and Bates, PJJ (2002) Recent record of Otomops wroughtoni (Thomas, 1913) (Chiroptera: Molossidae) from Meghalaya, North-east India. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 48(3): 251–253.
  4. Alfred, J. R. B.; Ramakrishna and Pradhan, M. S. 2006. 
     Validation of Threatened Mammals of India: pp: 103-106. 
     Publ: Director, Zool. Surv. India, Kolkata.

  5. Ramakrishna, Pradhan, M. S. and Sanjay Thakur  2003. 
     Status Survey of Endangered Species;  Wroughton's 
     Free-tailed Bat, Otomops wroughtoni: 1-16. 
     Publ: Director, Zool. Surv. India,Kolkata.

External links

There is a foraging record of a single specimen from Meghalaya (NE India) collected in 2001 (Thabah and Bates, 2002). Since then there is no record of sighting and/or collection of this species from that locality in Meghalaya in NE India. Therefore the distributional record of this species from Meghalaya needs confirmation and authentication (Alfred et al. 2006). On the other hand, the sighting of the colony/collection records of this species were reported at different times by Topal and Ramkrishna (1980), Bates (1992), Mistry and Parab (2001), Ramakrina and Pradhan (2003) (All recorded in Ramakrishna et al. 2003). Pending further confirmation and authentication of the distribution of this species from Meghalaya in NE India, the distribution of Otomops wroughtoni in India should be restricted to a single locality record from Karnataka state.