Kolar leaf-nosed bat

Appearance

The fur on its back is variable in color, with some individuals' hairs tipped with grayish-brown, while others' hairs are tipped with rufous brown. Fur on the ventral surface is tipped in white or fulvous-white.

Its forearm is 38–49 mm (1.5–1.9 in) long.

Range and habitat

The habitat surrounding its single remaining cave consists of tropical dry shrubland. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and caves. It is found in only one cave in India, and its population is less than 200 individuals.

In 2019, an area of 225 acres comprising the hill and its immediate surroundings were designated as the Kolar Leaf-nosed Bat Conservation Reserve by the Government of Karnataka.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

In crisis

It is currently evaluated as critically endangered by the IUCN. The Kolar leaf-nosed bat is found in only one cave, and its population is around 200-250 individuals. This cave was not on protected land, and until 2014, the granite hill was under threat due to illegal blast-mining.

The species was assessed as Critically Endangered in 2016 based on a proposal in 2014 by a team of researchers led by Bhargavi Srinivasulu. From 2004–2016, it was listed as Endangered. From 2000–2004 it was listed as Vulnerable, and from 1996–2000, it was listed as Near Threatened.

Kolar leaf-nosed bat is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Kolar leaf-nosed bat, Wikidata item Q1768795. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.