‘Cryptic’ creature — with long ‘golden’ fur — discovered as new species at Indian cave

Flying around the darkened cave in southern India, a furry creature went about its life in relative obscurity. Not anymore. Scientists ventured into the underground cavern and discovered the “cryptic” new species.

The researchers were doing surveys across southern Karnataka when they entered a “subterranean cave” in Kodagu district, according to a study published May 26 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa.

Inside, the researchers spotted a colony of bats and captured several specimens with nets, the study said. Taking a closer look, they discovered a new species.

The new species was named Miniopterus srinii, or Srini’s bent-winged bat, researchers said. It is a “small-sized” creature with “long,” “golden brown” fur. The bat’s head is “bulbous” and “tall,” the study said.

Photos show several Srini’s bent-winged bats flying inside the cave. The animals have black wings, and their bodies appear to blend in with the surrounding rocks. Close up photos show the bat’s rounded, furry head and tiny face.

The “cryptic” new species “closely resembles” another known bat species, but “subtle” physical differences — especially in the head and skull — make it distinct, the study said.

DNA analysis confirmed the new species had a “high genetic distance” from other known bats, researchers said. The new species had about 10.8% genetic divergence from its closest relative.

The new bat species was discovered by a mother-son duo, Bhargavi Srinivasulu and Aditya Srinivasulu, Bhargavi told McClatchy News. The duo named the new species after Bhargavi’s husband and Aditya’s father Chelmala Srinivasulu.

Chelmala Srinivasulu — “affectionately known as Srini” — is a biologist who has contributed to “bat taxonomy and conservation in south Asia,” the study said.

Srini’s bent-winged bat was found in a cave surrounded by “evergreen and semi-evergreen forest,” the study said.

Kodagu district is part of the Western Ghats mountain range and in the southwestern edge of Karnataka. The district is about 1,285 miles southwest of New Delhi.

The Western Ghat area contains “a uniquely high prevalence of endemic and cryptic taxa,” researchers said. “Greater effort is needed to discover and document such species, especially in the case of ecological indicators such as bats, as this may impact conservation management and protection of natural resources.”

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