The small creatures are always amazing. When there is good there has to be bad too. Likewise, when there are many big animals there are also mammals, animals which are very small, and one such mammal is the Bumblebee bat or Kitti’s hog-nosed bat.
It’s a hummingbird, it’s a bumblebee, it’s Kitti’s hog-nosed bat. Yes, it’s a bat. A teensy, tiny, teeny, weeny bat. Kitti’s hog-nosed bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai) is debatably the world’s smallest mammal and most definitely the world’s smallest bat. Kitti’s hog-nosed bat is about the size of a large bumblebee, weighing in at just two grams — about the weight of two Skittles.
It’s also just one of around 440 bat species found in Asia — a continent that houses more than one third of the world’s 1,200 bat species.
Kitti’s hog-nosed bat is small at about 29 to 33 mm in length and 2 gm in mass, hence the common name of “bumblebee bat”. It is the smallest species of bat and may be the world’s smallest mammal, depending on how size is defined.
The bat has a distinctive swollen,and pig-like snout with thin, vertical nostrils. It’s ears are relatively large, while its eyes are small and mostly concealed by fur. In the jaw, the premaxillae are not fused with surrounding bones, and the coronoid process is significantly reduced. Its teeth are typical of an insectivorous bat.
The bat has particularly slender legs, with rather thin fibula. Despite having two caudal vertebrae, Kitti’s hog-nosed bat has no visible tail. There is a large web of skin between the hind legs which may assist in flying and catching insects, although there are no tail bones or calcars to help control it in flight.
Kitti’s hog-nosed bat occupies limestone caves along rivers within dry evergreen or deciduous forests. While many caves contain only 10 to 15 individuals, the average group size is 100, with a maximum of about 500. Individuals roost high on walls or roof domes, far apart from each other.
Kitti’s hog-nosed bat has a brief activity period, leaving its roost for only 30 minutes in the evening and 20 minutes at dawn. These short flights are easily interrupted by heavy rain or cold temperatures.
Despite their small size, bumblebee bats have unique physical characteristics that help them survive in their environment. Their wings are long and narrow, allowing them to manoeuvre through dense forests and fly quickly to catch insects. They also have sharp teeth and strong jaw muscles, allowing them to crush the hard exoskeletons of their prey.
Despite their tiny size, bumblebee bats play an important role in their ecosystem. They feed on insects, which helps to control insect populations. They are also important pollinators, as they transfer pollen between flowers as they feed.
For 12 years, the bumblebee bat was listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, but in 2008 it was downlisted to Vulnerable due in part to the discovery of new populations, including ones across the Thai border in Myanmar.