Record #00487Nature archive
Smallest Mammal by Head–Body Length
Kitti's hog-nosed bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai) inhabits limestone caves in western Thailand and southeastern Myanmar. At just 29–33 mm head–body length, it is the smallest living mammal under the body-length metric.
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Current Record
29(lower bound)
Current record value
- Holder
- Kitti's hog-nosed bat
- Location
- —
- Start date
- —
- Record status
- VerifiedView verification details ↗Report an issue
Overview
Archive NoteThe bat weighs roughly 1.7–2 g and has a wingspan of about 130–145 mm. Its relatively large ears and distinctive pig-like snout contrast with its tiny body, and it forages briefly outside caves.
It inhabits a limited range of limestone caves and can be affected by habitat changes and disturbance. The body-length record is different from the smallest mammal by mass, commonly attributed to the Etruscan shrew.
Record history
1 Milestones- 29 (lower bound)Kitti's hog-nosed batCurrent Record
Sources
Evidence & ReferencesVerification basis and limitations
VerifiedThe record conclusion has sufficient verification support.
Basis: direct confirmation by an authority
Guinness identifies Kitti's hog-nosed bat as the smallest mammal by head–body length, 29–33 mm. The 29 mm value is a reported lower bound; Etruscan shrew is smaller by mass. This distributed species has no single record-event Place.
- Verification assessment
- 2026-11-10
- Last editorial review
- 2026-11-10
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