Meghalaya Records India’s First “Disc Footed Bat” with Sticky Disks

What is the News? 

Researchers from the Zoological Survey of India(ZSI) discovers India’s first disc footed bat with sticky nodes, near the Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary in Meghalaya. This location is about 1,000 km west of its nearest habitat in Myanmar.

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About Disc Footed Bat:

• This bat(Eudiscopus denticulus) is a bat species that is very different. It has a flat skull, prominent disk-like pads in the thumb, and bright orange colouration.
• This bat rests inside bamboo internodes. Their sticky disks and flattened skull help them in this.
• Habitat: So far, this species only thrive in a few localities in Southern China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar.
• The disc-footed bat is genetically very different from all other bats bearing disc-like pads.

Significance of this discovery:

• Firstly, the disc footed has raised Meghalaya’s bat count to 66, the most for any State in India.
• Secondly, it has also helped add a genus and species to the bat fauna of India taking the species count of the flying mammal in the country to 130.

Source: The Hindu

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