Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 20, 2013

Pipistrellus raceyi, also known as Racey's pipistrelle bat, is a bat from Madagascar, in the genus Pipistrellus. Although unidentified species of Pipistrellus had been previously reported from Madagascar since the 1990s, P. raceyi was not formally named until 2006. The specific name, raceyi, honors bat researcher Paul Racey. It is apparently most closely related to the Asian species P. endoi, P. paterculus, and P. abramus, and its ancestors probably reached Madagascar from Asia, rather than from Africa (from where most of the island's bat fauna originated). P. raceyi has been recorded at four sites, two in the eastern and two in the western lowlands, all below 80 m (260 ft) altitude. In the east, it is found in open areas and has been found roosting in a building; in the west it occurs in dry forest. Because of uncertainties about its ecology, it is listed as "Data Deficient" on the IUCN Red List. With a forearm length of 28.0 to 31.2 mm (1.10 to 1.23 in), Pipistrellus raceyi is small to medium-sized for a species of Pipistrellus. It is long-furred and the body is reddish above, with the head a trifle darker, and yellowish-brown below. The wings are dark and the feet are small. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded – Sair Tjerita Siti Akbari – Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia