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Newly Discovered Bat Species in Karnataka’s Coorg Region: A Breakthrough by Dr. Bhargavi Srinivasulu and Son

Dr. Bhargavi Srinivasulu, a famous zoology scientist from Osmania University, and her son, Aditya Srinivasulu, have discovered an exciting discovery of a new species of bat in Karnataka’s Coorg region. They called their discovery “Miniopetrus srinii Srini’s Bent-winged Bat,” after discovering it in a cave in Makuta, Kodagu area.

An expert committee validated the scientific papers that detailed their results, bestowed upon them the uncommon honour of discovering a new species. Bat specimens were taken from a vast subterranean cave in Makuta’s deep jungles of the Western Ghats. Bent-winged Bats are small-sized bats that establish colonies of a few hundred individuals in caves and are commonly found in southern Europe, Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu. With the discovery of this new species, India’s total number of bent-winged bat species has climbed from four to five.

According to Dr. Bhargavi Srinivasulu, their initial thoughts led them to conclude that the bats they observed were a cryptic species of the Small Bent-winged Bat. The Nicobar Islands, peninsular India, Nepal, and Northeast India are known to be home to the Small Bent-winged Bat.

Dr. Bhargavi and her team used a variety of tests, including morphological, cranial, echolocation, and genetic analyses, to determine the link between the Makuta specimens and others. They also contributed significantly to our understanding of the genetic variations between the bat faunas of the Andaman Islands and mainland India.

The description of this new species was published in Zootaxa, a peer-reviewed scientific megajournal for animal taxonomists. It’s worth noting that the newly discovered bat species was named after Prof. C Srinivasulu, a bat researcher at the institution.

This astonishing discovery not only contributes to India’s biodiversity understanding of bats, but also emphasises Dr. Bhargavi Srinivasulu’s and her son’s vital contributions to zoology and wildlife research.

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