A rare bat once thought to live only in southern India has been found in Bangladesh for the first time. 

The discovery now extends the species’ known range by nearly 2,000 kilometres and raises hopes that Bangladesh’s underexplored forests may hold more undocumented animals.

Researchers from Jahangirnagar University identified Peyton’s whiskered bat (Myotis peytoni) in Satchari National Park in the north-eastern district of Habiganj.

The discovery brings the number of known bat species in Bangladesh to 37. 

The findings were published on 30 June in Check List, an international journal of biodiversity data.

The researchers first captured three of the small bats from crevices under a culvert in Satchari in August 2017. 

Two were released and one was kept as a specimen.

More bats were later found at the same site.

The team confirmed the species by studying its body, skull and teeth, as well as through DNA analysis. 

The DNA sample from Bangladesh was 98.3% similar to one from the same species in India.

Speaking to Daily Waadaa, Kamrul Hasan, a professor of Zoology at Jahangirnagar University, who led the research, said, “This species was considered endemic to India. Since we have now found it in Bangladesh, it is no longer endemic to India, and its known range has expanded.”

The discovery is especially important because Peyton’s whiskered bat is listed as Data Deficient on the global IUCN Red List. This means there is not enough information to assess its risk of extinction.

Hasan said the new record would add Bangladesh to global knowledge of the species. The country could now also be included in future research and conservation efforts.

The tiny insect-eating bat plays an important role in forests by naturally controlling insects, he said.

“If we do not know or identify a species, there is no opportunity to further study its ecological role,” Professor Hasan added. 

“Now that we know this species exists here, we have an opportunity to study its population, ecological importance and role.”

Significantly, the bats were found just 85 metres above sea level – far lower than their previously known habitats in India, where they were mostly found between 400 and 1,052 metres. The finding suggests the species may be more adaptable than previously thought.

Hasan said the species faces no obvious immediate threat at Satchari. But small bats often depend on tree hollows and similar shelters. Deforestation and the loss of large old trees could therefore threaten their habitat.

“Bat research in Bangladesh is still very limited,” Hasan added.