First record of a bat from the Lakshadweep archipelago, southwestern India

Abstract

The first record of a bat species from the Lakshadweep archipelago (India) has been identified as Tadarida aegyptiaca (Chiroptera: Molossidae). It appears unlikely that any bat colony may have been resident on the islands. Stranding during migration, high aerial foraging, or disorientation by wind farms on the west coast of mainland India, are factors that need to be further explored to explain this occurrence