A new species of bats described to be “demonic” has been found in Vietnam. Beelzebub tube-nosed bat or Murina Beelzebub, are “diminutive but demonic-looking” bats recently discovered in Southern Indochina by researchers from the Hungarian Natural History Museum and Fauna & Flora International. The newly-found species was among the three previously unnamed species of bat belonging to the group known as tube-nosed bats. According to a member of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, the said species was named as such because of its “diabolic coloration and fierce protective behavior.”
 
Similar to the other two tube-nosed species of bats first discovered, the Murina Beelzebub bat also relies on the tropical forest for its survival. And because of the current deforestation in the area, the researchers warn of the danger this activity poses on the tiny bats.
 
Paul Racey, a representative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Bat Specialist Group, stated that there may be many more bat species in the region left undiscovered because of the lack of information on bat fauna.
 
Racey added a significant scientific fact that bats represent almost one-third of Southeast Asian mammals. But according to new genetic research, the number of bat species in the area may even be twice than what is currently identified. This calls for a more comprehensive study of bats in Vietnam.