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iWroughton's free-tailed bat
Conservation status
Image:Status iucn2.3 CR.svg Critically endangered (CR) </div>
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Chiroptera Family: Molossidae Genus: Otomops Species: O. wroughtoni
Binomial name
Otomops wroughtoni (Thomas, 1913)

The Wroughton's free-tailed bat (Otomops wroughtoni) is a free-tailed bat formerly considered to be endemic to the Western Ghats area of India but it has recently been discovered in remote parts of Cambodia as well. It is listed as a critically endangered species due to habitat loss and a restricted range.

[edit] India

Adjacent to the Madei Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa, in the state of Karnataka, is Barapede Caves, located between Krishnapur and Talewadi, sole home of Wroughton’s free-tailed bat, Otomops wroughtoni. Their habitat is threatened by limestone miners, timber contractors and the cave could be submerged if a nearby Madei river were dammed for a hydroelectric plant as proposed by the Karnataka Government. [1]

[edit] References

• Chiroptera Specialist Group & CBSG CAMP Workshop, India (August 1997) (2000). Otomops wroughtoni. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006. Listed as Critically Endangered (CR B1+2c v2.3)

Walston, J. and P.J.J Bates. 2001. The discovery of Wroughton's free-tailed bat Otomops wroughtoni (Chiroptera: Molossidae) in Cambodia. Acta Chiropterologica, 3(2): 249-252.

• National Geographic Article [2]