First record of albinism in Lesser Woolly Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus beddomei (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) with an updated list of chromatic aberrations in bats in India

Abstract

There have been worldwide reports of chromatic aberrations in bats, most striking among which is albinism. Albinism is an inherited, hypo-pigmentary state characterised by a complete lack of melanin. Albinistic individuals have pale skin, white fur, and pinkish-red eyes. Here we report the first record of albinism in Lesser Woolly Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus beddomei. During a bat survey in Goa, India; a single individual of albino Lesser Woolly Horseshoe Bat was recorded along with a normally coloured conspecific individual from a small shelter with tiled roof. We confirm the species identity of this bat based on its morphology, and acoustic characteristics of its echolocation call. We further update the list of colour aberrations in bats reported from India.