Pied bat


The pied bat, or badger bat, is a rare species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is the only species in the genus Niumbaha. While not related in any way, the pied bat partly resembles a bee, with light yellow stripes and blotches on its body, the stripes being primarily on its back, but these are more vector-like and symmetrical and have more angles on each stripe. An interesting thing to note is that the pied bat is a completely unique bat. Biology professor DeeAnn Reeder, one of the species' discoverers, said, "Its cranial characters, its wing characters, its size, the ears – literally everything you look at doesn't fit. It's so unique that we need to create a new genus."

Taxonomy

First discovered in 1939 in Belgian Congo, the species was, at that time, placed in the genus Glauconycteris under the name Glauconycteris superba. Following a 2013 capture in South Sudan, only the fifth recorded capture of the species, the pied bat was determined to be of a new genus entirely, Niumbaha, named after the Zande word for "rare".

Geographic range

It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana and South Sudan.

Habitat

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Conservation status

It is threatened by habitat loss.