The world of nature continues to surprise us day after day with new and surprising species that scientists, thanks to advances in technology, are able to find.This time, Yoda, a fruit bat With a funny look it has been officially recognized as a new species.
Scientists have identified a species of bat that looks like Yoda
The flying mammal earned the nickname due to his unusual resemblance to the Jedi Master of Star Wars, Yoda , one of the most beloved characters in the popular saga.
Now, after extensive research, the bat, discovered in a remote Rainforest of Papua New Guinea, has been formally registered as a newly identified species.
Scientists have also renamed it " Tube nose Hamamas bat" .The word Hamamas means "happy" in the language of Papua, which is appropriate then, as Yoda c On his good mood, the bat has an enigmatic expression and a wide smile.
The recognition comes after the biology team at the University of York, Nancy Irwin, studied about 3,000 specimens of fruit bats in 18 museums around the world.
According to Irwin, most of the morphological characteristics that separate this bat from other species are associated with one more jaw wide and round that gives the appearance of a constant smile.
«Since most of the remote Papues have never seen the war of the galaxies, I thought it was appropriate to use a local name: Hamamas, which means happy, ”said the biologist.
The scientific name of the bat, Nyctimene wrightae sp.nov., honors conservationist Dr.Deb Wright, who dedicated 20 years of her life to conservation in Papua New Guinea.

Like other members of The Nyctimene family, the bat is characterized by its strange outstanding tubular nostrils. These types of bats are so common in the region, that one of them is represented by a postage stamp from Papua New Guinea.
The Nyctimeninae were one of the first species of bats described in records dating from 1769 and later in 1860 by British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace.
The noses in the form of a tube, bright colors, the thick stripe on the back and the points that characterize them have attracted the attention of scientists for about 250 years, but researchers still find new species hidden in the group.
According to Irwin, there was no An illustration of the group of cyclotis bats, which made it difficult to identify them.It was such a difficult task that Papua New Guinea produced stamps that illustrated the bats but could not assign them a species name .But now, Photographs, illustrations and a guide to the other species in the group make it possible to distinguish between three species.
What do you think of the bat that looks like Yoda? Do you see the similarity?
Images: Ribastank/JORDAN COLOSI
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