The painted bat (Kerivoula picta) is a species of vesper bat in the Vespertilionidae family.

It is found in Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. It is found in arid woodland.

The body and tail are the same length. The body length is 3 to 5.5 cm. The tail length is 3 to 5.5 cm as well. The wingspan is 18–30 cm in length.

Small groups of these animals are often found in the most unlikely roosts such as in the suspended nests of weaver finches and sunbirds or under the eaves of African huts. Doubtless the bright and broken coloration of these bats is a form of camouflage to protect them while they roost in vulnerable sites. Although nothing is known of their reproductive habits, Painted bats have nuclear family units -that is, a mother, a father, and young. Hunting flights last around 1-2 hours.

Besides the coloring it is otherwise a fairly normal microbat that uses sonar to catch insects at night.

They live in Southern and eastern India to southern China. They are rare and live in groups of only 2–6.

Colors for Kerivoula picta are bright orange or scarlet, with black wings and orange along the fingers. As in other forms of Kerivoula, K. picta possesses long, wooly, rather curly hair, a small, fragile form, large funnel-shaped ears and 38 teeth.

References

• Chiroptera Specialist Group 1996. Kerivoula picta. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 19 July 2007.

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