Kerivoula intermedia
Common name: The Small Woolly Bat
Distribution of Kerivoula intermedia
Kerivoula intermedia hanging from a small twig after release
Physical Description
Fur: Like all of the Kerivoula, or woolly bats, Kerivoula intermedia has long fluffy fur. The fur on the upperparts is orange brown to rufous with dark, slaty-grey bases on the hairs. Underparts are slightly paler.
Ear: The ears are large and funnel-shaped, another characteristic of the Kerivoula, and the tragus, inside the ear, is very long and pointed. Unlike the closely-related Phoniscus there is no notch at the base of the tragus.
Nose: The nose is simple, and the skin on the muzzle a brownish pink.
Tail: The tail is very long and the tail membrane large. The bat uses this tail membrane partly to help it brake during flight, but it also acts as a sort of scoop that helps the bat to catch insects. After successfully catching an insect, the bat will duck its head down and grab it from the tail membrane scoop with its mouth.
Wings: The wings are a dark brown, and for their size very broad and rounded, so this species is very manoeuvrable in the forest.
Size: This is the smallest bat we catch in the reserve, and in fact it is one of the smallest bats in the world! The average forearm is about 29 mm, and the average weight just over 3 g, barely more than a dime!
Ecology
All we really know about K. intermedia is that it’s surprisingly common in the understory of the forest, readily captured in harp traps but able to avoid mist nets. Consequently its abundance throughout the Peninsula has likely been greatly underestimated. We have never found a roost, and because it is so small we can’t attach a radio-transmitter to track them to find out where they live. So we don’t know where it roosts, or who it roosts with.
Where they can be found
Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia
