Named after King Midas, the Myotis midastactus golden bat that calls Bolivia’s tropical savanna home was recently determined to be its own unusual species.
“Apparently it isn’t related to camouflage, because two other species of Myotis that occur in the same area are consistently darker and use similar [daytime] roosts,” Oswaldo Crus Foundation wildlife biologist Ricardo Moratelli told National Geographic.
The bat’s curious coloring may be a result of its particular insect diet.