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Stoliczka's Trident Bat

Aselliscus stoliczkanus
LC · Least concern Chiroptera Hipposideridae
Stoliczka's Trident Bat (Aselliscus stoliczkanus)
Photo: © Utain Pummarin, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Activity
Nocturnal
Sociability
Colonial

Description

A small leaf-nosed bat from Southern and South-East Asia whose genome has recently been sequenced owing to its marked sensitivity to climate change, making Stoliczka's Trident Bat a sentinel species for studying its impacts.

How to identify it

Small, with the characteristic leaf nose of the hipposiderids, in this case featuring a trident-shaped structure that gives the genus its common name. Distinguishing Stoliczka's Trident Bat from other small leaf-nosed species usually requires in-hand examination.

Habitat and range

Caves and woodland in China, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Diet

Insectivorous; hunts using the high-frequency echolocation typical of the genus.

Behaviour

Forms colonies in caves. Highly sensitive to temperature and climate variations, making Stoliczka's Trident Bat vulnerable to long-term climate change.

Conservation

A widespread species considered of Least Concern, although its sensitivity to climate could make Stoliczka's Trident Bat an early indicator of environmental change.

Threats

Disturbance of cave roosts and, over the long term, climate change given its thermal sensitivity.

Other accounts in Hipposideridae

See all species accounts for bats · Full species index

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