Guwahati: Deep inside a community-managed forest in Meghalaya’s Khasi Hills, scientists have uncovered a quiet but remarkable first for Indian wildlife—a rare woolly bat species never before recorded in the country.
Researchers have documented Titania’s woolly bat (Kerivoula titania) in India for the first time, following a December 2024 field survey in East Khasi Hills district.
The discovery adds a new species to India’s bat fauna and reinforces Meghalaya’s status as one of the most biologically rich yet underexplored regions of the country.
The finding has been reported in the peer-reviewed journal Animal Taxonomy and Ecology by a team of scientists comprising Uttam Saikia, Manuel Ruedi, Rohit Chakravarty, Jennifer Lyngdoh, Rajib Goswami, and Gábor Csorba.
A Bat That Slipped Under the Radar
The bat was recorded in a forest near Thankharang village at around 870 metres above sea level during targeted surveys aimed at documenting elusive forest-dwelling mammals. Until now, Titania’s woolly bat was known only from parts of Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China’s Yunnan province.
Its presence in Meghalaya marks a westward extension of its known range by nearly 500 kilometres and takes the total number of bat species recorded in India to 137.
What makes the discovery particularly significant is the bat’s lifestyle. Woolly bats are tiny, fast-flying, and adept at avoiding conventional mist nets—one of the primary reasons they are so rarely recorded.
High-Tech Traps for a High-Flying Species
To overcome this challenge, the research team used specialised harp traps and acoustic lures, tools designed to intercept bats that navigate effortlessly through dense forest interiors. Once captured, the species’ identity was confirmed using an integrative taxonomic approach—combining external morphology, baculum structure, mitochondrial DNA sequencing, echolocation call analysis, and wing morphology measurements.
The results left little doubt: this was Kerivoula titania, a species never before documented within India’s borders.
Why This Discovery Matters
According to the study, Titania’s woolly bat is a forest-interior specialist, adapted for slow, highly manoeuvrable flight in cluttered vegetation. Its short, broad wings and high-frequency echolocation calls indicate a strong dependence on undisturbed tropical rainforest habitats—making it especially vulnerable to deforestation and habitat degradation.
Researchers say the find highlights just how little is still known about small mammal diversity in Northeast India, even as new species and country records continue to emerge from the region.
“In recent times, there have been significant additions to the bat fauna of India in the form of new species descriptions and new country records. Considering the perilous state of biodiversity in the country, it is imperative to thoroughly document India’s biological wealth to inform conservation strategies,” the researchers noted.
They emphasised the need for more intensive field surveys, particularly in community-managed forests, which are increasingly proving critical for the conservation of rare and hidden wildlife.
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