The clear-winged woolly bat (''Kerivoula pellucida'') is a species of

vesper bat Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat famili ...

in the family

Vespertilionidae Vespertilionidae is a family of microbats, of the order Chiroptera, flying, insect-eating mammals variously described as the common, vesper, or simple nosed bats. The vespertilionid family is the most diverse and widely distributed of bat familie ...

. It is found in

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Members of this species are relatively small, typically weighing about and mainly forages in the understory of tropical forests. This species also presents a unique variant of echolocation that is a higher intensity and lower frequency than most other kerivoula calls. The short range calls are distinguishable from the long range orientational echolocation calls by peak frequency and duration.

Appearance

As the name suggests, this bat has relatively

translucent In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable light scattering by particles, scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale ...

wings that are approximately long. Translucent wings are a unique feature for this bat that allow for easy identification. The body length is with a long posterior tail. This is not a traditional tail, as the skin flaps that make up the wings attach behind the animal here. The bats dorsal and ventral fur ranges in color, with the dorsal portion being primarily a range of pale grey to dark brown. No fur is found on the wings of this bat. The fur color exhibits a smooth transition to white on the ventral side of the animal. No nose leaf is present on the muzzle of the bat. The ears are a pinkish-yellow color.Kingston, T., Liat, L.B. and Akbar, Z. (2006) Bats of Krau Wildlife Reserve. Penerbit UKM, Bangi.

Biology

Clear-winged woolly bats typically inhabit the understory and lower canopy, typically roosting in dead leaves. Mating occurs year-round and the mothers give birth to single pups at a time that generally weigh about a quarter of the mothers weight. Until they are able to fly, the pups cling to their mothers belly as she forages. Once they are able to fly, they will forage alongside the mother. Sexual maturity is reached at one year of age. As with many other species,

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

is the primary threat to this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q304292 Kerivoulinae Bats of Southeast Asia Bats of Borneo Bats of Indonesia Bats of Malaysia Bats of the Philippines Mammals of Brunei Fauna of Java Fauna of Sumatra Least concern biota of Asia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Mammals described in 1845