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Hipposideros griffini (Credit: Vu Dinh Thong)

Scientists discover new species of roundleaf bat in Vietnam

Posted on: 12.04.12 (Last edited) 12th April 2012

Hipposideros griffini is the latest in a spate of new bat discoveries in the region.

A team of researchers, supported by the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP), the Harrison Institute, the University of Tübingen, and the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, has discovered a new species of bat in Vietnam.

Named Hipposideros griffini after Donald Griffin (a famous chiropterologist who revolutionised bat research by explaining echolocation), the species was discovered by Thong et al. and described in the Journal of Mammology.

To date, this species has been found in just two locations: Cat Ba Island in northern Vietnam, and Chu Mom Ray National Park on the mainland some 1,000 km to the south. Researchers believe however that its range may extend to other areas in Vietnam as well as China, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Thailand, where similar karst habitats are found.

Hipposideros (or roundleaf bats) are part of a family commonly known as ‘old world leaf-nosed bats’, so-called because of their distinctive leaf-shaped nose ornaments, which help in the transmission of echolocation signals.

Frontal (left) and lateral (right) views of Hipposideros griffini (credit: Vu Dinh Thong).

Written by

Sarah Rakowski

Sarah is Fauna & Flora International's Communications Officer (Media & Publications). With a BSc in Environment, Economics and Ecology, she has long been fascinated with the challenge of balancing human needs and environmental protection. Whilst at university, Sarah developed a keen interest in marine conservation and conducted an opinion survey into public attitudes towards Marine Protected Areas for her dissertation. Her love of marine conservation also led her to spend a summer conducting ecological surveys on the coral reef off the coast of Andros Island, Bahamas (it’s a tough job…). Since graduating, Sarah has held a variety of communications roles, most recently in the private sector, where she worked as the European PR Manager and Communications Specialist for a leading technology firm.

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