The Kitti’s hog-nosed bat is another strong contender for smallest mammal in the world, as it has the smallest skull of any mammal. Despite being named for its distinctive pig-like snout, this bats’ common nickname – the bumblebee bat -gives a better indication of how small this flying mammal really is.
These bats are the only known members of the Craseonycteridae family. They can be found in western Thailand and southeast Burma, although with an estimated population of less than 10,000 individuals, they are considered Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Dangers to the species include the annual burning of forest areas in Southeast Asia, as well as habitat disturbance caused by increasing numbers of people visiting their roosting caves. Most of these bats’ meals are eaten on the wing – they use echolocation to track down small insects before gobbling them up mid-flight.
