A few weeks ago, conservationists announced the milestone discovery of the 1500th known bat species, Pipistrellus etula. “Before we started our research, there were only two species of tube-nosed bats reported from the Philippines.”A photo of Murina baletei. While they eventually confirmed one of the previously reported tube-nosed bats, they realized that the second species didn’t actually live in the Philippines. They are now classified as Murina alvarezi, Murina baletei, Murina hilonghilong, Murina luzonensis, Murina mindorensis, and Murina philippinensis. With its total bat tally now standing at 85, the Philippines possesses almost double the number of native species found in the United States.