Scientists from the Institute of Zoology at the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, alongside international colleagues, have discovered a rare species of bat previously unrecorded in the country—the Turkmen long-eared bat (Plecotus turkmenicus). The discovery was made during an expedition in the South Ustyurt National Nature Park.

The Turkmen long-eared bat is an extremely rare and poorly studied species native to Central Asia. Prior to this event, scientific knowledge of the species relied entirely on records collected before 1970 and museum specimens. Over the past 55 years, the bat had virtually vanished from nature observations. The field research was conducted under the One Health in Nature Conservation project, supported by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Germany's International Climate Initiative.