25 Bumblebee Bat Facts: The World's Smallest Bat

The bumblebee bat's official name is Kitti's hog-nosed bat.

It is the smallest bat in the world.

It is also one of the smallest mammals on Earth. Only the Etruscan shrew rivals it, being slightly lighter but longer.

Its body is only about 3 centimetres long, roughly the length of a large bumblebee, which is how it got its nickname.

Its wingspan is about 17 centimetres.

The bumblebee bat has no visible tail.

It has a pink, pig-like snout with upturned nostrils, which is why it is called a "hog-nosed" bat.

It has large ears and very tiny eyes, almost hidden in its fur.

Its fur is reddish-brown or grey on the back, with a paler underside.

A bumblebee bat weighs less than a coin

An adult bumblebee bat weighs only about 2 grams, less than a single one-rupee coin. That's lighter than a paper clip and only about as heavy as a couple of raisins. Despite being so tiny, it is a fully grown mammal with fur, a heart, lungs and a brain, and it feeds its baby milk just like larger animals do. It is the lightest bat known to science.

The bumblebee bat is the only living member of its family, Craseonycteridae, making it one of the most unusual bats on the planet.

It was discovered in 1973 by Thai biologist Kitti Thonglongya, and its scientific name, Craseonycteris thonglongyai, honours him.

Kitti Thonglongya died in 1974, before the species was formally described, and it was named in his memory.

Bumblebee bats are found only in western Thailand and south-eastern Myanmar.

Scientists found bumblebee bats in Myanmar in 2001, and the two populations use slightly different echolocation calls.

Bumblebee bats roost in small limestone caves, usually near rivers.

In Thailand, they are found in only a few dozen caves, many of them in and around Sai Yok National Park.

Colonies usually range from a handful of bats to a few hundred.

Inside the cave, they cling high up on the walls and ceilings, often spaced apart from one another.

Bumblebee bats only hunt for a few minutes each day

Bumblebee bats are among the most time-limited hunters of any bat. They usually leave their caves for just a short time at dusk and again briefly before dawn, often for less than half an hour each time. During these quick trips, they fly around the tops of bamboo clumps and teak trees, using echolocation to catch tiny insects and spiders in the air or pick them off leaves. They rarely travel more than about a kilometre from their cave.

Bumblebee bats can hover in the air, thanks to their broad wings with long tips, a bit like a hummingbird.

A female usually gives birth to a single baby once a year.

The bumblebee bat is listed as near threatened, as forest burning, cave disturbance and habitat loss put pressure on its small range.

After its discovery, many bumblebee bats were collected by souvenir hunters and collectors, which harmed some colonies.

Because it is so unusual and has no close living relatives, conservation groups list it as one of the world's most evolutionarily distinct mammals.