Researchers discover two bat species in India for the first time during Mizoram survey
Researchers have recorded two bat species in Mizoram for the first time in India. The findings extend their known range into South Asia and underline the region's biodiversity value.
- Jul 08, 2026,
- Updated Jul 08, 2026, 9:15 AM IST
- Researchers verified both bats using morphology, genetic analysis and echolocation data
- One species was found in Serchhip, the other in Reiek
- Glischropus bucephalus range now stretches roughly 670 km further west
A team of Indian and Hungarian researchers has recorded two bat species in India for the first time during biodiversity surveys in Mizoram, taking the country's known bat diversity to at least 138 species.
The study, led by researchers from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Shillong, in collaboration with scientists from other Indian institutions and the Hungarian Natural History Museum, documented the first-ever occurrence of the Indo-Chinese thick-thumbed bat (Glischropus bucephalus) and the Indo-Chinese mouse-eared bat (Myotis indochinensis) in India.
Published in the journal Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, the findings significantly expand the known geographic range of both species from Southeast Asia into South Asia and highlight the biodiversity importance of Northeast India's forests.
The discoveries were made during extensive field surveys conducted across Mizoram between 2023 and 2025. Researchers confirmed the species through detailed morphological examinations, molecular genetic analyses and echolocation studies.
According to the study, Glischropus bucephalus was previously known only from Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar. Its discovery in Mizoram's Serchhip district extends its known distribution about 670 km westward from its earlier westernmost recorded location in Myanmar.
Similarly, Myotis indochinensis, which had earlier been recorded only from Vietnam, Laos and southern China, was found in Reiek in Mizoram, extending its known range by nearly 1,300 km westward.
The researchers also suggested that a recently published genetic sequence from Bangladesh, currently assigned to another bat species, may actually belong to Myotis indochinensis. If confirmed, the finding would indicate that the species has a much wider distribution across South Asia than previously understood.
Lead researcher Uttam Saikia said Northeast India, located at the intersection of the Indian and Southeast Asian biogeographic regions, continues to reveal previously undocumented species and distribution patterns, underscoring the need for more intensive biodiversity surveys.
The study noted that the discoveries help bridge the "Wallacean Shortfall"—the lack of adequate information on the geographic distribution of species—which remains a major challenge for biodiversity conservation in ecologically rich but underexplored regions.
