Cave nectar bat

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Cave nectar bat
Eonycteris spelea.png
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Pteropodidae
Subfamily: Rousettinae
Tribe: Eonycterini
Genus: Eonycteris
Species:
E. spelaea
Binomial name
Eonycteris spelaea
(Dobson, 1871)
Cave Nectar Bat area.png
Cave nectar bat range
Synonyms [1]
  • Eonycteris bernsteini Tate, 1942
  • Macroglossus spelaeus Dobson, 1871

The cave nectar bat, dawn bat, common dawn bat, common nectar bat or lesser dawn bat (Eonycteris spelaea) [1] is a species of megabat within the genus Eonycteris . The scientific name of the species was first published by Dobson in 1871.

Contents

Description

The upper parts of the cave nectar bat are grey-brown to dark brown to black. The underparts are paler and the neck is sometimes yellowish brown. The muzzle of this bat is elongated, and particularly adapted for drinking nectar. The species has as well an external tail. The head and body length measures 8.5–11 cm (3.3–4.3 in), the tail length is about 1.5–1.8 cm (0.59–0.71 in) and the forearm length measures 6–7 cm (2.4–2.8 in). [2]

Habits and habitat

The cave nectar bat is found in primary forests and in disturbed and agricultural areas. It roosts in caves, in larger groups, with some roosts exceeding 50,000 individuals, and it sometimes roosts with other bat species. In some places, this species seems to have adapted well to leafy, semi-urban habitats. Due to its large roosting size it has an IUCN status of "least concerned" however, only limited data is available on population size and trends. E. spelaea travels many kilometres each night in search of the nectar of flowering trees and shrubs. Because of that, this bat species is a very important pollinator of fruit trees, such as durians, [2] notably Durio zibethinus and Durio graveolens . [3] [4] [5] It also feeds on and pollinates other commercially important crops such as banana ( Musa spp.) and jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus). [6] In addition to pollinating these plants, the cave nectar bat is an important pollinator for major crops, including up to 55 species of plants. Their tendencies to pollinate certain plants is determined by the proximity of their living quarters. There are at least thirteen plant taxa that the cave nectar bat feeds upon. The dependence on the proximity of the plants explain the variation of which plants that the cave nectar bats pollinate and feed upon. [7] For this reason, E. spelaea is seen as an important species for pollination in disturbed areas bordering on urban and agricultural farms.

Distribution

E. spelaea lives in Bangladesh, [8] Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia (Java, Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sulawesi and some other small islands), Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, India and Timor-Leste. [2] It had been previously recorded from Gomantong Caves, Sukau, Segama, and Madai in Sabah; Niah, Sungai Tinjar, and Kuching in Sarawak; and Sungai Tengah and Kutai in Kalimantan. [9] [10] [11] [12]

Conservation

This species is killed for bushmeat in Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines. [13]

Cave nectar bats are likely to be vulnerable to predation by climbing snakes and nocturnal owls. [14]

Research

The genome of Eonycteris spelaea was recently sequenced using PacBio long-read sequencing. [15] As a small, frugivorous, specialist nectar-feeding bat with good flight potential and that can breed 1–2 times a year, [16] it is an ideal species as an animal model for bats. Recent evidence has shown this species can carry multiple viruses such as filoviruses, [17] [18] coronaviruses, [19] astrovirus, [20] picornavirus, [21] lyssavirus, [22] pteropine orthoreovirus [23] and flavivirus, [24] all without obvious signs of disease.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Waldien, D.L.; Adleson, S.; Wilson, Z. (2020). "Eonycteris spelaea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T7787A22128326. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T7787A22128326.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Shepherd, Chris R.; Shepherd, Loretta Ann (2012). A Naturalist's Guide to the Mammals of Southeast Asia. Wiltshire, UK: John Beaufoy Publishing. p. 22. ISBN   978-1-906780-71-5.
  3. ↑ Soepadmo, Engkik; Eow, BK (31 August 1977). Mabberley, DJ; Lan, Chang Kiaw (eds.). "The Reproductive Biology of Durio zibethinus Murr" (pdf). The Gardens' Bulletin, Singapore. 29: 25–33. ISSN   2382-5812. OCLC   918436212 . Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  4. ↑ Start, A.N.; Marshall, A.G. (1976). "Nectarivorous Bats as Pollinators of Trees in West Malaysia". In Burley, J.; Styles, B.T. (eds.). Tropical Trees: Variation, Breeding and Conservation. Linnean Society Symposium Series. Vol. 2. London, UK: Academic Press. pp. 141–159. ISBN   978-0121451509. OCLC   476102040.
  5. ↑ Brown, Michael J. (1997). Arora, R.K.; Ramanatha Rao, V.; Rao, A.N. (eds.). Durio, a Bibliographic Review (PDF). New Delhi, India: International Plant Genetic Resource Institute. p. 13. ISBN   9789290433187. OCLC   38754437 . Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  6. ↑ Lim, Voon-Ching; Ramli, Rosli; Bhassu, Subha; Wilson, John-James (2018-03-26). "Pollination implications of the diverse diet of tropical nectar-feeding bats roosting in an urban cave". PeerJ. 6 e4572. doi: 10.7717/peerj.4572 . ISSN   2167-8359. PMC   5875395 . PMID   29607265.
  7. ↑ Thavry, H.; Cappelle, J.; Bumrungsri, S.; Thona, L.; Furey, N. M. (2017). "The diet of the cave nectar bat (Eonycteris spelaea, Dobson) suggests it pollinates economically and ecologically significant plants in Southern Cambodia". Zoological Studies. 56 (56): e17. doi:10.6620/ZS.2017.56-17. PMC   6517731 . PMID   31966216.
  8. ↑ Red List of Bangladesh Volume 2: Mammals (PDF). IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Bangladesh Country Office. 2015. ISBN   978-984-34-0735-1 . Retrieved 18 March 2022– via Portals.iucn.org.
  9. ↑ J. Payne; C. M. Francis; K. Phillipps (1985). A field guide to the mammals of Borneo. Kota Kinabalu, Sabah: The Sabah Society. ISBN   978-967-99947-1-1.
  10. ↑ Ghanem, Simon J.; Voigt, Christian C. (2012), "Increasing Awareness of Ecosystem Services Provided by Bats", Advances in the Study of Behavior, Elsevier, pp. 279–302, doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-394288-3.00007-1, ISBN   9780123942883
  11. ↑ SHAO, W. W.; HUA, P. Y.; ZHOU, S. Y.; ZHANG, S. Y.; CHEN, J. P. (May 2008). "Characterization of microsatellite loci in the lesser dawn bat (Eonycteris spelaea)". Molecular Ecology Resources. 8 (3): 695–697. Bibcode:2008MolER...8..695S. doi:10.1111/j.1471-8286.2007.02051.x. ISSN   1755-098X. PMID   21585874. S2CID   10081806.
  12. ↑ Esselstyn, Jacob A. (2010-02-23). "At Long Last, an Authoritative Guide to the Mammals of Indochina". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 17 (3): 215–216. doi:10.1007/s10914-010-9132-z. ISSN   1064-7554. S2CID   37160888.
  13. ↑ Mickleburgh, S.; Waylen, K.; Racey, P. (2009). "Bats as bushmeat: a global review". Oryx. 43 (2): 217–234. doi: 10.1017/s0030605308000938 .
  14. ↑ Eonycteris spelaea. Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Eonycteris_spelaea/
  15. ↑ Wen, Ming; Ng, Justin H J; Zhu, Feng; Chionh, Yok Teng; Chia, Wan Ni; Mendenhall, Ian H; Lee, Benjamin PY-H; Irving, Aaron T; Wang, Lin-Fa (2018-10-01). "Exploring the genome and transcriptome of the cave nectar bat Eonycteris spelaea with PacBio long-read sequencing". GigaScience. 7 (10). doi:10.1093/gigascience/giy116. ISSN   2047-217X. PMC   6177735 . PMID   30247613.
  16. ↑ Nowak, Ronald M. (1999). Walker's mammals of the world. The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   0801857899. OCLC   444327317.
  17. ↑ Laing, Eric D.; Mendenhall, Ian H.; Linster, Martin; Low, Dolyce H. W.; Chen, Yihui; Yan, Lianying; Sterling, Spencer L.; Borthwick, Sophie; Neves, Erica Sena (January 2018). "Serologic Evidence of Fruit Bat Exposure to Filoviruses, Singapore, 2011–2016". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 24 (1): 114–117. doi:10.3201/eid2401.170401. ISSN   1080-6040. PMC   5749470 . PMID   29260678.
  18. ↑ Yang, Xing-Lou; Zhang, Yun-Zhi; Jiang, Ren-Di; Guo, Hua; Zhang, Wei; Li, Bei; Wang, Ning; Wang, Li; Waruhiu, Cecilia (March 2017). "Genetically Diverse Filoviruses in Rousettus and Eonycteris spp. Bats, China, 2009 and 2015". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 23 (3): 482–486. doi:10.3201/eid2302.161119. ISSN   1080-6040. PMC   5382765 . PMID   28221123.
  19. ↑ Mendenhall, I. H.; Borthwick, S.; Neves, E. S.; Low, D.; Linster, M.; Liang, B.; Skiles, M.; Jayakumar, J.; Han, H. (2016-09-16). "Identification of a Lineage D Betacoronavirus in Cave Nectar Bats (Eonycteris spelaea) in Singapore and an Overview of Lineage D Reservoir Ecology in SE Asian Bats". Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. 64 (6): 1790–1800. doi:10.1111/tbed.12568. ISSN   1865-1674. PMC   7159162 . PMID   27637887.
  20. ↑ Mendenhall, Ian H.; Skiles, Maggie M.; Neves, Erica Sena; Borthwick, Sophie A.; Low, Dolyce H.W.; Liang, Benjamin; Lee, Benjamin P.Y.-H.; Su, Yvonne C.F.; Smith, Gavin J.D. (December 2017). "Influence of age and body condition on astrovirus infection of bats in Singapore: An evolutionary and epidemiological analysis". One Health. 4: 27–33. doi:10.1016/j.onehlt.2017.10.001. ISSN   2352-7714. PMC   5678831 . PMID   29159263.
  21. ↑ Kapoor, A.; Simmonds, P.; Lipkin, W. I.; Zaidi, S.; Delwart, E. (2010-07-28). "Use of Nucleotide Composition Analysis To Infer Hosts for Three Novel Picorna-Like Viruses". Journal of Virology. 84 (19): 10322–10328. doi:10.1128/jvi.00601-10. ISSN   0022-538X. PMC   2937767 . PMID   20668077.
  22. ↑ Lumlertdacha, Boonlert; Boongird, Kalyanee; Wanghongsa, Sawai; Wacharapluesadee, Supaporn; Chanhome, Lawan; Khawplod, Pkamatz; Hemachudha, Thiravat; Kuzmin, Ivan; Rupprecht, Charles E. (February 2005). "Survey for Bat Lyssaviruses, Thailand". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 11 (2): 232–236. doi:10.3201/eid1102.040691. ISSN   1080-6040. PMC   3320458 . PMID   15752440.
  23. ↑ Taniguchi, Satoshi; Maeda, Ken; Horimoto, Taisuke; Masangkay, Joseph S.; Puentespina, Roberto; Alvarez, James; Eres, Eduardo; Cosico, Edison; Nagata, Noriyo (2017-02-11). "First isolation and characterization of pteropine orthoreoviruses in fruit bats in the Philippines". Archives of Virology. 162 (6): 1529–1539. doi:10.1007/s00705-017-3251-2. ISSN   0304-8608. PMID   28190201. S2CID   26357185.
  24. ↑ Varelas-Wesley, Irene; Calisher, Charles H. (1982-11-01). "Antigenic Relationships of Flaviviruses with Undetermined Arthropod-Borne Status *". The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 31 (6): 1273–1284. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1982.31.1273. ISSN   0002-9637. PMID   6293325.
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