Scientists discover ‘spectacular’ new species of bright orange bat

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Scientists working in the caves and mining tunnels of the Nimba Mountains in Guinea, West Africa, have discovered a “striking” new species of orange and black bat. The bat was first seen in 2018, when a team of scientists, led by the American Museum of Natural History, and the organisation Bat Conservation International were carrying out field surveys to ascertain which species live in the mountains’ old mining tunnels, known as adits, and at what time of year. “Then began the long path of documentation and gathering all the data needed to show that it's indeed unlike any other known species.” The team collected a dizzying array of data on the bat, including morphological - it’s form; morphometric - size and shape; how it uses echolocation, and they analysed genetic data, including comparative data from collections at the American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and the British Museum. “In addition to the Lamotte's roundleaf bat, it's possible Myotis nimbaensis could be the second bat species found only in this particular mountain range,” said Jon Flanders, Bat Conservation International's director of endangered species interventions.