The painted bat (''Kerivoula picta'') or painted wooly bat 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 also known as "butterfly bat" (''projapoti badur''), "rongin chamchika" (coloured bat) or "komola-badami chamchika" (orange-brown bat) in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Habitat

It is found in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

(in forested areas, especially in

Dhaka Division Dhaka Division () is an Divisions of Bangladesh, administrative division of Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains as a population magnet, and covers an area of 20, ...

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 ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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 ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. It is found in arid woodland and is fairly uncommon. The bat had been spotted for the last time in Bangladesh in 1888 according to ''

The Fauna of British India ''The Fauna of British India'' (short title) with long titles including ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma'', and ''The Fauna of British India Including the Remainder of the Oriental Region'' is a series of scientific books t ...

'' by W.T. Blanford. On Bangladesh Red List published in 2015 by

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

and the Forest Department of Bangladesh, the bat was described as "data deficient". The IUCN classifies ''Kerivoula picta'' as

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

. The species was thought to have been extinct before rediscovery after 133 years in

Madhupur National Park Madhupur National Park () is a major and one of the earliest national park in Bangladesh. Description Madhupur National Park covers an area of . The Forest was established as a national park by the Pakistan government in 1962 but, was officia ...

in June 2021.

Description

The body and tail are the same length. The body length is . The tail length is as well. The wingspan is . Weight is about . ''Kerivoula picta'' is bright orange or scarlet, with black wings and orange along the fingers. As in other species of ''

Kerivoula ''Kerivoula'' is a genus of vesper bats in the subfamily Kerivoulinae. They are found throughout tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, and New Guinea. Species within this genus are: * Tanzanian woolly bat (''Kerivoula africana'') * ...

'', ''K. picta'' possesses long, wooly, rather curly hair, a small, fragile form, large funnel-shaped ears and 38 teeth. Ears are naked, relatively large with rounded tip. Tragus is long, narrow, and transparent. Muzzle is very hairy with naked nostrils. Older males are brighter than females.

Behavior

Painted bats are nocturnal or crepuscular. Small groups of these animals are often found in unusual roosting sites such as in the suspended nests of weaver finches and sunbirds, banana tree leaves, or under the eaves of huts. Painted bats have been known to roost in pairs or in groups of only 2–6 bats. They apparently aestivate during the day, as they are relatively sluggish when disturbed. The bright and broken coloration of these bats may be a form of camouflage to protect them, as they have been reported to blend in with dried leaves and flowers when they roost. They live on small insects. Hunting flights last around 1–2 hours. Not very much is known about their reproduction and lifespan. However, they form nuclear family units consisting of a mother, a father, and an offspring. They breed between June and August. Female bats give birth to a single offspring. The echolocation characteristics and the presence of a large interfemoral membrane, a characteristic feature of family Vespertilionidae, suggest that ''K. picta'' is an aerial hawker, i.e. capturing insects during flight using the interfemoral membrane as a net.

Echolocation

Echolocation for this species is relatively similar to other species of ''Kerivoula''. Recorded calls were broadband and steep calls ranging from 156.9 kHz to 41.5 kHz. Flight and resting echolocation calls differed every way except the peak frequency. Bats with higher starting frequencies appear to be better at catching prey close to clutter than those with lower frequencies. This is significant considering the amount of debris that is normally around their habitat.Sripathi, K., H. Raghuram, and N. Thiruchenthil. "Echolocation Sounds of the Painted Bat Kerivoula Picta (Vespertilionidae)." Current Science 91.9 (2006): 1145–147. Print.

Hunting

These bats are hunted,

taxidermied Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the process ...

and sold online. Sellers may include the bats in a variety of commercial products. Academic researchers believe this practice to be harmful to an already scarce wild population as these bats cannot be farmed and can only raise one pup at a time. At least 856 listings featuring ''Kerivoula picta'' have been identified. Taxidermied specimens of ''Kerivoula picta'' and other bat species are also sold as curios to tourists in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q647798 Kerivoulinae Bats of Asia Bats of China Bats of India Bats of Indonesia Bats of Malaysia Bats of Southeast Asia Mammals of Bangladesh Mammals of Nepal Mammals of Sri Lanka Mammals of Vietnam Least concern biota of Asia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Mammals described in 1767 Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas