| Dark fruit-eating bat | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Phyllostomidae |
| Genus: | Artibeus |
| Species: | A. obscurus |
| Binomial name | |
| Artibeus obscurus Wied-Neuwied, 1826 | |
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| Dark Fruit-eating Bat range | |
| Synonyms | |
Artibeus fuliginosus Contents | |
The dark fruit-eating bat (Artibeus obscurus), is a bat species from South America.
Dark fruit-eating bats are relatively small, with an average body length of 8 cm (3.1 in), and weighing from 30 to 52 g (1.1 to 1.8 oz). Their fur is longer and darker than that of their closest relatives, being dark brown to sooty black over most of the body, with a white frosting. The underparts are paler, and there are also faint stripes of pale fur on the face. The nose-leaf is broad, with a distinct horseshoe separated from the upper lip. The snout is relatively narrow for a bat of its small size, and the ears are rounded, with a sharply pointed tragus. [2]
Dark-fruit eating bats are found throughout the Amazon Basin. They are known from all but the southernmost parts of Brazil, from the Guyanas, and from the Amazonian regions of countries from Venezuela to Bolivia. They inhabit rainforests from sea level to 1,400 m (4,600 ft), and, in the southern part of their range, savannah and patchy semi-deciduous forests. There are no recognised subspecies. [2] [3]
The bats are generally low-flying, travelling close to the ground through forested terrain. They spend the day roosting under leaves or flaking pieces of bark about 4 to 7 m (13 to 23 ft) above the ground. [2] They feed on figs, and the fruit of trees such as shimbillo and uvilla. [4] Mating takes place between September and November, and results in the birth of a single offspring. [2]
The New World leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) are bats found from southern North America to South America, specifically from the Southwest United States to northern Argentina. They are ecologically the most varied and diverse family within the order Chiroptera. Most species are insectivorous, but the phyllostomid bats include within their number true predatory species and frugivores. For example, the spectral bat, the largest bat in the Americas, eats vertebrate prey, including small, dove-sized birds. Members of this family have evolved to use food groups such as fruit, nectar, pollen, insects, frogs, other bats, and small vertebrates, and in the case of the vampire bats, even blood.
The Jamaican, common, or Mexican fruit bat is a frugivorous bat species native to the Neotropics.
The little white-shouldered bat is a species of bat from South and Central America. It is the only species within its genus, the name of which translates as "reaper" or "destroyer".
Geoffroy's tailless bat is a species of phyllostomid bat from the American tropics.
Andersen's fruit-eating bat is a bat species found in South America.
The silver fruit-eating bat is a South American bat species of the family Phyllostomidae.
The pygmy fruit-eating bat is a bat of the family Phyllostomidae. The specific name phaeotis is of Greek derivation, coming from the word phaios meaning dusky, referring to their dusky gray coloration.
The dwarf little fruit bat is a species of leaf-nosed bat from South America.
The bidentate yellow-eared bat is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae, native to South America. Formerly classified in the Vampyressa genus, phylogenetic analyses support its inclusion in Vampyriscus.
The Neotropical fruit bats (Artibeus) are a genus of bats within the subfamily Stenodermatinae. The genus consists of 12 species, which are native to Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean.
The fraternal fruit-eating bat is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae that is found in drier habitats in Ecuador and Peru. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Jamaican fruit bat, but was raised to species level in 1978. The smallest species in the group of large Artibeus, it has a forearm length of 52–59 mm (2.0–2.3 in), a total length of 64–76 mm (2.5–3.0 in), and a weight of 30–55 g (1.1–1.9 oz).
The Honduran fruit-eating bat is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is found in El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
The flat-faced fruit-eating bat is a South American species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Jamaican fruit bat, but can be distinguished by its larger size, the presence of faint stripes on the face, and of a third molar tooth on each side of the upper jaw. Genetic analysis has also shown that the two species may not be closely related.
The Toltec fruit-eating bat is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is also sometimes called the "lowland fruit eating bat."
The Ethiopian epauletted fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Burundi, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitat is savanna.
The red fruit bat or red fig-eating bat is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae, in the monotypic genus Stenoderma. It is found in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The hairy yellow-shouldered bat is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae native to South America. There are no recognised subspecies.
Thomas's fruit-eating bat, sometimes also popularly called Watson's fruit-eating bat, is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is found from southern Mexico, through Central America to Colombia. Its South American range is to the west of the Andes. The species name is in honor of H. J. Watson, a plantation owner in western Panama who used to send specimens to the British Natural History Museum, where Oldfield Thomas would often describe them.
The Bogota fruit-eating bat is a species of bat found in South America.
Dermanura rava is a species of leaf-nosed bat found in Central and South America.
