Mouse-tailed Bat Species ID Confirmation
Hello, I was out checking up camera traps of our research and conservation project on the outskirts of Keenjhar lake in Thatta district, Southern Sindh province, Pakistan and since, I had free time I also decided to visit some old mines nearby which have roosts of bats. Since my bat knowledge is very scarce and I hope to learn more, I decided to make a go with my good friend and local scientist, Haroon. We visited the caves an hour away from our regular field site in a heat wave, crazy! Once we reached the caves, I was just showering myself with sweat. The smell was not even that bad. Anyways, my camera was malfunctioning a lot but I still ended up managing to get some a shot of several individuals. I am not sure if there are mixed species in here but as per my research these should be Muscat/ Small Mouse-tailed bats (Rhinopoma muscatellum).
Any feedback or comment would be appreciated!
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Jon Hall
Hi Zafeer Shaikh – I shared this on facebook and got the following from Shaheer Asghar “Seems to be R. microphyllum, the length of the tail appears to be less than that of the forearm (although not the best angle). In both R. hardwickii and R. muscatellum, the tail will be longer than the forearm.” Though he then said “if there is a better angle showing the tail, and it’s longer than the forearm, R. hardwickii would be a safer ID than R. muscatellum, going by how many more have been collected from Sindh.”