Bats (order Chiroptera of class Mammalia) constitute a significant portion of biological diversity in many ecosystems and have a wide geographical distribution [28] . We have previously discovered novel viruses in several local bat species [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] , and there were many similar discoveries of novel bat viruses by researchers in other parts of the world. In particular, important human viral pathogens like the SARS virus, Nipah virus and Ebola virus were found to have originated from bats and contributed to substantial human morbidity and mortality in recent outbreaks. Taken together, these discoveries hint that these small mammals are important reservoirs of diverse and undiscovered animal viruses, with significant risk of zoonotic transmission to humans [36] .