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Thick-thumbed Myotis

Myotis rosseti
LC · Least concern Chiroptera Vespertilionidae
Thick-thumbed Myotis (Myotis rosseti)
Photo: © Utain Pummarin, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Activity
Nocturnal.

Description

A mouse-eared bat restricted to three Indochinese countries, with remarkably thickened thumbs that allow it to cling firmly to smooth surfaces — a trait it shares with a few other unrelated Asian bats.

How to identify it

Small to medium-sized, with thickened pads at the base of the thumbs — a convergent trait shared with unrelated genera such as Glischropus — adapted for clinging to smooth surfaces.

Habitat and range

Woodland in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

Diet

Insectivorous; hunts on the wing using echolocation typical of the genus Myotis.

Behaviour

Its thickened thumbs suggest it may roost on smooth internal surfaces, such as inside bamboo stems, similar to other unrelated bats with the same adaptation.

Conservation

A species with a range restricted to three countries, with no evidence of significant decline.

Threats

No major threats have been identified on a global scale.

Other accounts in Vespertilionidae

See all species accounts for bats · Full species index

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