January 25, 2021 at 6:00 am Bats, better known for their mousy looks, can have a colorful side. A new species, discovered when two bats were caught at an abandoned miners’ tunnel in western Africa, sports showy swathes of orange fur. The new finds “are just gorgeous,” says mammalogist Nancy Simmons of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Orange fur on the bats’ backs contrasts with black sections of wing membranes. But that’s not what sets this bat apart: Three other Myotis species from the continent are similarly flashy. Rather less visible traits, from details of hidden striping in its fur to its echolocation calls, peg