First Records of Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from the World’s Largest Cave in Vietnam

Abstract

Located within the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Central Vietnam, Son Doong Cave is the world’s largest cave and has become one of the most famous sites for caving tourists and scientists worldwide. It contains highly diverse landscapes and ecosystems with special value in many natural aspects including biodiversity. Bat species are usually regarded as key and fascinating dwellers in cave ecosystems. We recently conducted a bat survey in Son Doong Cave in May 2022 for an initial understanding of the bat species inhabiting this special cave. Bats were captured using mist nets. Echolocation calls were recorded and analyzed using the PCTape system and Batman and Selena software, respectively. Results from the survey confirmed that Son Doong Cave is a home for at least six echolocating bat species of five genera and four families: Hipposideridae (Aselliscus stoliczkanus, Hipposideros scutinares), Rhinolophidae (Rhinolophus thomasi), Molossidae (Mops plicatus) and Vespertilionidae (Myotis pilosus and Myotis cf. muricola). Of these five species, H. scutinares and M. pilosus are listed as globally “vulnerable” by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Among the six captured and recorded species from the Son Doong Cave, each species is clearly distinguishable from the others in terms of morphological features, echolocation call structure and frequencies.