Title

Status of the World's Smallest Mammal, the Bumble-Bee Bat Craseonycteris thonglongyai, in Myanmar

Authors

Maria Joao Ramos Pereira, Faculdade de Ciencias de Lisboa - Portugal
Hugo Rebelo, Universidade do Porto - Portugal
Emma C. Teeling, University College Dublin - Ireland
Stephen J. O'Brien, National Cancer Institute at FrederickFollow
Iain Mackie, University of Aberdeen - United Kingdom
Si Si Hla Bu, University of Yangon - Myanmar
Khin Maung Swe, University of Yangon - Myanmar
Paul Bates, Centre for Systematics and Biodiversity Research - United Kingdom

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-1-2006

Publication Title

Oryx

Keywords

Bumble-bee bat, Craseonycteris thonglongyai, Chiroptera, Cytochrome b, Distribution, Echolocation, Genetics, Myanmar

ISSN

0030-6053

Volume

40

Issue/No.

4

First Page

456

Last Page

463

Abstract

The bumble-bee bat Craseonycteris thonglongyai of the monospecific family Craseonycteridae is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. First discovered in 1973, it was until recently only known from a small population of approximately 2,300 individuals restricted to the catchment area of the River Kwai, Thailand. However, in 2001 a single craseonycterid was discovered in Mon State, Myanmar, extending its geographical range by approximately 250 km. In October and November 2002 a survey was undertaken to examine the status of C. thonglongyai in Myanmar and assess its geographical distribution and population size. C. thonglongyai calls were recorded from bats emerging from nine of 19 caves surveyed; the population size was estimated to be 1,500. The phylogenetic relationships between the Thai and Myanmar populations were investigated using molecular, morphological and acoustic data. Morphologically, the two populations are indistinguishable. However, there is an 8–10 kHz echolocation call divergence between the populations. Cytochrome b data suggest that the two populations are similar and that the Myanmar population may be monophyletic. Annual surveys of the known bat roosts and in situ education programmes for local people are recommended together with the establishment of an integrated, transboundary Myanmar/Thai conservation strategy.

Comments

©2006 Fauna & Flora International

Additional Comments

National Cancer Institute contract #: N01-CO-12400; GenBank accession #s: EF035011-EF035012

NSUWorks Citation

Pereira, Maria Joao Ramos; Hugo Rebelo; Emma C. Teeling; Stephen J. O'Brien; Iain Mackie; Si Si Hla Bu; Khin Maung Swe; and Paul Bates. 2006. "Status of the World's Smallest Mammal, the Bumble-Bee Bat Craseonycteris thonglongyai, in Myanmar." Oryx 40, (4): 456-463. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cnso_bio_facarticles/537

ORCID ID

0000-0001-7353-8301

ResearcherID

N-1726-2015