The genus Myotis has more than 120 living species of bats. They are primarily insectivorous creatures and range from tiny species weighing a few grams to fairly large species like Myotis chinensis weighing between 30-40 grams.
The discovery of this new Myotis bat in the Guinean Nimba Mountains brings to 11 the number of species of the genus known from continental Africa.
“In an age of extinction, a discovery like this offers a ray of hope,” says Winifred Frick, chief scientist at Bat Conservation International and a researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “It is a spectacular animal. It has this bright orange fur, and because it was so different, that led us to realize that it had not been described before. Discovering a new mammal is rare. It has been my dream since I was a child ”.
The funny thing is that this finding happened while they were looking for another species of bat, Hipposideros lamottein, but they came across something peculiar: a bat that looked nothing like this and did not match the descriptions of any other species that inhabited this area.
Using morphological, morphometric, echolocation and genetic data, including comparative data from museum collections, the scientists described this new species, which they named Myotis nimbaensis in recognition of the mountain range in which it is found .
Referencia: Nancy B. Simmons et al. 2021. A new dichromatic species of Myotis (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from the Nimba Mountains, Guinea. American Museum Novitates 3963
