Discovered iridescent bats in Bolivia

Scientists from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil and the Smithsonian Institute in the United States have published in the Journal of Mammalogy journal a new species of bat discovered in Bolivia.

Myotis midastactus bat

The new bat is named Myotis midastactus. Accordingly, Myotis is a rat-eared bat and midastactus inspired by the king of gold Midas in Greek mythology. This bat is distinctly different from the back due to the iridescent yellow fur and very short body.

Myotis midastactus is likely to live only in Bolivia and is classified in the same category as other bats found in South America named Myotis simus. In nature, it lives in caves, hollows or in thatched roofs in the steppe, eating small insects and roots.

There are about 100 species of Myotis bats in the world. Dr. Ricardo Moratelli of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation also stated the difference between bats in Bolivia with other bats in the Amazon basin in a scientific article in 2011.

Bats Myotis midastactus is the fifth bat that lives in Brazil, Venezuela and Ecuador described by Dr. Moratelli in recent years.