The wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat (Mops plicatus) is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 1800 by Scottish scientist Francis Buchanan-Hamilton. Buchanan-Hamilton initially placed it into the genus Vespertilio, with the scientific name Vespertilio plicatus. Its species name "plicatus" is Latin for "folded," possibly referencing its wrinkled lips or its folded ears.

Description

Its forearm length is 40-50 mm. Its fur is dark brown. Its dental formula is for a total of 30 teeth.

Range and habitat

Its range includes several countries and regions in South and Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. It has been documented at elevations up to 950 m.

Conservation

As of 2020, it is evaluated as a least-concern species by the IUCN—its lowest conservation priority. It met the criteria for this classification because it has a wide geographic range; its range includes protected areas, its population size is large; and it is unlikely to be experiencing rapid population decline. However, some local populations may be threatened by overharvesting for bushmeat, habitat loss via deforestation, cave disturbance, and persecution of its roosts due to the perception that it is a pest. Examples of such human interference include in northern Myanmar as a result of limestone extraction for cement manufacture and colony of hundreds of thousands of bats eradicated "as pests" in Phnom Pehn.