Which bat is recognized as the world's smallest bat species?

Kitti's hog-nosed bat is recognized as the world's smallest bat species.

Also called the bumblebee bat, this tiny insect-eating mammal measures only about 29–33 millimeters in head-and-body length and weighs roughly 2 grams. It lives in limestone caves near rivers in western Thailand and southeastern Myanmar, usually emerging briefly at dusk and dawn to hunt small insects.

The species was scientifically described in 1974 by British zoologist John Edward Hill, who named it Craseonycteris thonglongyai in honor of Thai zoologist Kitti Thonglongya. Thonglongya died before the formal description was published. Kitti's bat is the only living species in its family, Craseonycteridae.

A common mix-up concerns the title of world's smallest mammal. Kitti's bat is arguably the smallest by body length, while the Etruscan shrew is generally regarded as the lightest mammal by body mass. Despite its size, the bat can fly, hover near vegetation, and give birth to a single young each year. Habitat disturbance and cave tourism have contributed to its near-threatened status.