A team of researchers visited the Nimba Mountains located in West Africa in 2018. They were searching intently for an endangered or vulnerable species of the bat. However, they ended up discovering another new bat species known as Myotis nimbaensis.
This hitherto unknown bat species has a black and orange coloring, quite unlike the color that most bats are known to possess. The research was documented for the first time on Wednesday in American Museum Novitates.
Black and Orange Bat: A Spectacular Discovery, says Chief Scientist
Chief scientist at Bat Conservation International and study co-author, Winifred Frick stated that a discovery like this in an age of extinction offers a glimmer of hope.
The study co-author told the American Museum of Natural History that the animal is a spectacular one.
Frick was part of the research team from the University of Maroua in Cameroon and Bat Conservation International investigating mining shafts and natural caves in the Nimba Mountains in Guinea.
Nimba Mountains otherwise known as sky islands are up to 1 mile above sea level, and are vital biodiversity hotspots for several species including nocturnal animals like bats.
One critical bat species is the Hipposideros lamottei or Lamotte's roundleaf bat. This species of bat can only be found in the Nimba Mountains as well as abandoned mine shafts, popularly known as adits.
However, while the scientists were trapping for the existing bat species, they chanced upon an unexpected discovery. Director of endangered species at Bat Conservation International, Jon Flanders, told The Washington Post that he looked over at a net and something quite interesting caught his eye.
Flanders mentioned that he and Eric Mois Bakwo Fils from the University of Maroua first set eyes on the strange species of bat trapped on the net.
Flanders said: "Eric and I got back to camp and independently started trying to figure out what was going on. Discovering a new species of colored bats is incredibly rare. I believed this is a pretty new bat species."
Flanders and his colleague literally walked into the room the following morning to simultaneously announce that the research team has discovered a new species of bats.
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The Orange and Black Bat is a New Species, Says Bat Expert
Frick and Bakwo Fils invited American Museum of Natural History Curator and bat expert, Nancy Simmons for assistance. Simmons, the paper's lead author, stated in a museum press release that the bat was a new species.
The Washington Post has it that Simmons was able to confirm her initial belief or opinion with assistance from the British Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian.
New Bat Species Added to the List Each Year
According to The New York Times, there are over 1,400 species of bats known today, and up to 20 new ones are added to the list each year. However, most of these discoveries are usually made in the laboratory by analyzing the DNAs of bat species that look incredibly similar and even thought to be the same.
The new bat species are endangered already as it is known to live only in the Nimba Mountains. The researchers have revealed that the next step to take is to discover more about this unique species in order to protect it much more effectively.
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