Panama and Ecuador Discover New Species of Dog-Faced Bats

Smithsonian researchers in Panama and Ecuador has found two new species of dog-faced bats: Freeman’s dog-faced bat in Panama and the Waorani dog-faced bat in Ecuador.

These unique animals are rarely observed because they fly high in the night sky. They also fly much faster than regular bats, given their extremely narrow wings. It’s still unclear whether they play fetch or eat slippers.

“They were roosting in abandoned buildings. Knowing their species-specific echolocation calls may make it possible to find them again in the future with a bat detector—without catching them—and to find out more about their distribution and habitat preferences,” said Thomas Sattler from the Swiss Ornithological Institute who was part of the discovery team.