Name a New Species of Bat

Center for the Environment's Species Naming and Conservation Initiative

Would you like to name a bat species for a family member or friend this holiday season, and help support important environmental research and conservation efforts?

Purdue University is offering the naming rights to a newly discovered sspecies in honor of a donor to the Center for the Environment. This unique species is a rare family member of the little yellow bat, the smallest known bats in the New World. They weigh less than a tablespoon of water, and are sensitive environmental sentinels of their habitat.

"This provides a terrific opportunity to recognize someone who loves science and wants to be more involved in the discovery of a species in the vast world around us. Plus, it's forever, so your name is immortalized in the international scientific community."

~Dr. John Bickham
Discoverer of the new bat species
view a local TV interview here

How can this species be named for you?

The Center for the Environment at Purdue University is seeking donors to support research and education in the area of global sustainability and conservation. The Center will recognize such donors by providing the opportunity to name a newly discovered species of bat.Serious donors should contact Betsy Liley directly at eliley@purdue.edu, or by phone at (765) 494-0520.

Potential Donor Benefits in Center for the Environment's Species Naming and Conservation Initiative

• Travel with Dr. Bickham's team to a sensitive ecological habitat for species discovery
• Permanent plaque with photo of donor and species displayed at Purdue
• Support of environmental research and education
• Recognition in scientific and popular publications, field guides, and books

• Special recognition at a Purdue Celebration Event

Examples of donors supporting environmental research and conservation by naming new species:

• Conservation International
• Wildlife Conservation Society

About the Newly Discovered Bat

Little yellow bats are a group of small insect-eating bats that live in the tropical lowlands from Mexico south to Brazil. They are remarkable for their small size (an adult weighs only about 3 grams which is less than a teaspoon of water) and many are quite rare and difficult to find. Unlike most bats, little yellow bats don't migrate or travel long distances, and they are usually only active around dusk. They belong to a group called Rhogeessa and in recent years a number of new species have been discovered using modern genetics technology. One new species, yet to be named, has been discovered by Purdue professor John Bickham who with his collaborators found that the new animal differs by a unique arrangement of chromosomes and DNA sequence from any other known bat. The importance of these bats to science is that they are a model of how species evolve and are sensitive indicators of environmental quality since they are dependent on their local environment for food and roosting sites.

Discovered by Purdue Professor John Bickham

John Bickham is a professor in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources in the College of Agriculture and director of the Center for the Environment in Discovery Park at Purdue University. He has published over 190 papers in the scientific literature including studies on the molecular systematics of vertebrate animals, ecotoxicology, and conservation genetics. In 2006 he co-authored a book Bats of Jamaica with H. H. Genoways, R. J. Baker and C. J. Phillips. Current research projects include molecular systematics of bats, ecotoxicological studies of wildlife in Azerbaijan, conservation genetics of the Steller sea lion, and population genetics of the bowhead whale. He is presently an independent international consultant for BP in Azerbaijan, and a member of the US delegation to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission.

• Visit Dr. Bickham's Faculty Webpage

About the Center for the Environment

At a time when the world's resources are being consumed at unprecedented rates, this center examines how to protect the environment while supporting economic development. Center researchers study ways to model and predict the impact of activity on ecosystems, monitor environmental quality, manage natural resources, and develop technologies that will help create a cleaner environment.

About Purdue's Discovery Park

The Center for the Environment is one of eleven centers in Discovery Park at Purdue University. Discovery Park has grown from an idea in 2001 to a $375 million interdisciplinary research complex today where researchers are working to accelerate the time it takes to move advancements from the laboratory into the marketplace. Alumni, private donors and foundations have contributed more than $150 million. In its first five years, the park has been instrumental in attracting faculty, generating research, and developing Indiana's economy.