Painted Bat

About the Painted Bat

The painted bat (Kerivoula picta) or painted wooly bat is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is also known as "butterfly bat" (projapoti badur), "rongin chamchika" (coloured bat) or "komola-badami chamchika" (orange-brown bat) in Bengali.

It is found in Bangladesh (in forested areas, especially in Dhaka Division), Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. 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 by W.T. Blanford. On Bangladesh Red List published in 2015 by IUCN and the Forest Department of Bangladesh, the bat was described as "data deficient". The IUCN classifies Kerivoula picta as near threatened. The species was thought to have been extinct before rediscovery after 133 years in Madhupur National Park in June 2021.

The body and tail are the same length. The body length is 3 to 5.5 cm (1.2 to 2.2 in). The tail length is 3 to 5.5 cm (1.2 to 2.2 in) as well. The wingspan is 18–30 cm (7.1–11.8 in). Weight is about 5 g (0.18 oz). Kerivoula picta is bright orange... Wikipedia →