In 1973, Thai biologist Kitti Thonglongya and his team collected over 50 unidentified bats in caves near Sai Yok Falls in Thailand. He sent the specimens to Dr. J.E. Hill of the British Natural History Museum in London.
Unfortunately, Kitti died before learning that he had discovered the brand new species of bats that Hill had named Craseonycteris thong in honor of Kitty.
Its common name is Kitti the pig bat.
Approximately 1.25 inches [30 mm] long, with a wingspan of about 5 inches [13 cm]Kitti’s pig bat is the smallest known bat and certainly one of the smallest mammals.
In fact, it’s so small that it is usually called it bat bumblebee. Other distinctive features include a pig-like nose (reflected within the name), the entire absence of a tail, and huge ears with swollen tragi, or coverings of the ear canals.
These bats could be found only in Sai Yok National Park in Thailand and nearby parts of Burma.
Like many other species, kitti pig bats use echolocation to hunt insects. Having long wings for its size, the mammal is well adapted to hovering, which can enable it to grab prey from tree leaves.
When roosting, the animal prefers the nice and cozy upper areas of limestone caves with high ceilings and plenty of chambers – places that provide higher protection and minimize body heat loss, a crucial factor for small warm-blooded mammals.
Because the kitti pig bat is amazingly rare and occupies a small territory, its survival might be in danger if its conditions don’t improve.
Efforts have been made to supply higher protection, but deforestation, logging, road construction and tourism remain threats. Time will tell whether this tiny mammal might be resilient enough to survive human attack on its fragile habitat.
Below is a set of a few of the most interesting facts about this topic the smallest mammals on the planet too:
1. Their upper body is normally reddish-brown or gray, while the underside is pale.
2. They have dark wings with long suggestions that allow them to drift within the air
3. This bat’s weight loss plan consists mainly of insects
4. They have a pig’s nose, small eyes and huge ears. They have a big network of skin between their hind legs called the “uropatagium”. This gives them assistance in the course of the flight
5. They are most energetic at dusk once they fly around teak trees and bamboo clumps, catching insects
6. They live in small colonies of about 10-100 individuals high in limestone caves in forested areas near rivers
7. Currently, little is understood about their reproduction. They are believed to offer birth to 1 young every year in late April.
8. The bumblebee was so named since it is comparable in size to a big bumblebee
Source: Various sources incl https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102010049
