Nature Ramble

Last week pangolins, this week bats.

Trapsing across the globe to Bolivia for this week’s Nature Ramble.

Bolivian golden bat revealed as ‘new species’

Myotis midastactus has very short, yellow-gold fur and is thought to live only in Bolivia

A golden bat from Bolivia has been described as a new species by scientists.

Myotis midastactus had previously been classified as another bat found in South America called Myotis simus.

But examination of a collection of museum specimens suggested the existence of a different species, thought to live only in Bolivia.

Its most distinctive characteristic is its golden-yellow, very short and woolly fur.

This bright colouration – which is unique among New World Myotis species – earned the bat its new name midastactus, after the Greek legend of King Midas and his golden touch.

There are over 100 species of Myotis – or mouse-eared bats – in the world.

In the wild, Myotis midastactus lives in the Bolivian savanna. It eats small insects and roosts during the day in holes in the ground, hollow trees and under thatched roofs.

Source: BBCNews Read more

Nature Ramble

Snail, gecko and carnivore in ‘top 10 new species’ 2014

Olinguito (Bassaricyonneblina)

A top 10 list of species discovered in the last 12 months is topped by the olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina), a carnivore dwelling in the treetops of the Andes. This racoon relative caused a stir after a neglected specimen was first discovered in a Chicago museum drawer.

See the slide show on BBC News

Nature Ramble

Oman does not inspire a vision of nature, what one usually hears about is human rights abuses.

But, recently Oman cam into the news…

Owl recorded in Oman could be a new species

The team says the owl belongs to a genus that also includes the Tawny owl, familiar in Britain and Europe

Ornithologists working in Oman say an owl discovered in a remote, mountainous region could be a new species.

Wildlife sound-recordist Magnus Robb told BBC News that he heard the bird’s call whilst trying to record the call of another type of owl.

After repeated trips to the remote site, he and a colleague – naturalist and photographer Arnoud van den Berg – captured photographs of the bird.

They have published their observations in the journal Dutch Birding.

Mr Robb’s first recordings of the bird’s unfamiliar hoot were a serendipitous discovery in March of this year.

“I was listening through my headphones, when I suddenly heard something completely different [to the owl species I was there to record],” he told BBC News.

“I know the other Arabian owl sounds quite well, and this was clearly something that didn’t fit.”

The bird call expert said he had a “good inkling straight away that this could be something new”.

“I even phoned a colleague a few minutes later and said, ‘I think I’ve just discovered a new species of owl.”

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