Bat with sticky disks

Meghalayahas yielded India’s first bamboo-dwelling bat with sticky disks, taking the species count of the flying mammal in the country to 130.

About disk – footed bat:

• The disk-footed bat (Eudiscopus denticulus) was recorded in the north-eastern State’s Lailad area near the Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary, about 1,000 km west of its nearest known habitat in Myanmar.
• Flattened skull and adhesive pads helped in identifying it as the disk-footed known from specific localities in southern China, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.
• Very high frequency echolocation calls of the disk-footed bat, which was suitable for orientation in a cluttered environment such as inside bamboo groves.
• The disk-footed bat 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.
• IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern