Luzon fruit bat

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Luzon fruit bat
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Pteropodidae
Genus: Otopteropus
Kock, 1969
Species:
O. cartilagonodus
Binomial name
Otopteropus cartilagonodus
Kock, 1969
Luzon Fruit Bat area.png
Luzon Fruit Bat range

The Luzon fruit bat (Otopteropus cartilagonodus) is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is the only species within the genus Otopteropus [2] and is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forest.

Contents

Description

The Luzon fruit bat, a member of the order Chiroptera, is a small bat that is common to Luzon island. [3] It exhibits dark blackish brown coloration, with a lighter color appearing on the abdominal area, usually grey. [2] It is nocturnal and has rather large eyes, especially for its small stature. [2] Luzon Fruit bats are identifiable by their ears, which are marked by red thickenings. [4]

The species exhibits sexual dimorphism in their cranial characters, particularly the skull. [5] The overall size of the skull is found to be larger in males, but females have a more heightened braincase. [5] Because of this, the females have a longer total body length, while both sexes have similar wing bone length. [5]

Ecology

Distribution and habitat

The Philippine Islands have wide fauna diversity. Under the order Chiroptera, the island is home to 73 species, 36 genera, and 6 families. [5] Luzon Fruit Bats are one of two species in the family Pteropodidae that have undergone radiation in Southeast Asia. [5] The Luzon Fruit Bat is restricted to Luzon Island, found on the Philippine archipelago. [6] They occupy three different regions on this island: the Cordillera Central Mountains, the Sierra Madre Mountains, and the Zambales Mountains. [7] It has been hypothesized that these three clades diverged from one another around 1.91 million years ago. [3]

The Luzon fruit bats are more abundant in montane primary forest. [4] But they have spread to well-developed secondary forest, as well as lowland, montane, and mossy forests. [4] Their distribution is found in an elevation range from 200 – 2250 meters (Heaney et al. 1998), but regions of middle elevation is preferred. [3] Because of their high elevation location, they are listed as a Least Concern. [1]

Diet

It is frugivorous; its diet consists mainly of fruit or nectar. [4] In their consumption of fruit, they help contribute to natural reforestation by dispersing seeds. [4] Due to a difference in cranial size, males and females tend to have different food preferences, based on what is most accessible to their body shape. [5]

Behavior

Reproduction

Females have a long duplex uterus that is superficially joined at the cervix. [2] These bats produce one or two young per year. [7] And the distribution of embryo between the left and right uteri are relatively equal and no preference has been observed. [2] Research has concluded that females undergo delayed implantation, although the specific length of delay is unknown. [2]

Male members of the order Chiroptera have a wide morphological variation of primary reproductive structures. [8] Male Luzon fruit bats are no exception, as they display a form of migratory testes, in which their testes are located in the abdomen. [2] Additionally, these male bats have few spermatozoa in both their testes and epididymis, indicating that much of the sperm in not fully mature. [2]

Related Research Articles

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Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera (bats). They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genera Acerodon and Pteropus—flying foxes. They are the only member of the superfamily Pteropodoidea, which is one of two superfamilies in the suborder Yinpterochiroptera. Internal divisions of Pteropodidae have varied since subfamilies were first proposed in 1917. From three subfamilies in the 1917 classification, six are now recognized, along with various tribes. As of 2018, 197 species of megabat had been described.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant golden-crowned flying fox</span> Large bat species


The giant golden-crowned flying fox, also known as the golden-capped fruit bat, is a species of megabat endemic to the Philippines. Since its description in 1831, three subspecies of the giant golden-crowned flying fox have been recognized, one of which is extinct. The extinct subspecies was formerly recognized as a full species, the Panay golden-crowned flying fox. Formerly, this species was placed in the genus Pteropus; while it is no longer within the genus, it has many physical similarities to Pteropus megabats. It is one of the largest bat species in the world, weighing up to 1.4 kg (3.1 lb)—only the Indian and great flying fox can weigh more. It has the longest documented forearm length of any bat species at 21 cm (8.3 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egyptian fruit bat</span> Species of bat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted-winged fruit bat</span> Species of bat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-tongued nectar bat</span> Species of bat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ipanema bat</span> Species of bat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livingstone's fruit bat</span> Species of bat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mindanao pygmy fruit bat</span> Species of bat

The Mindanao pygmy fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is the only species within the genus Alionycteris. It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests at high elevations that are either scarce or overtaken by tourist hotspots. As a result, this species may be seeking new elevated habitats likely in the southern region of the Philippines and along the islands of Sulawesi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat</span> Species of bat

Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is commonly found across southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buettikofer's epauletted fruit bat</span> Species of mammal

Buettikofer's epauletted fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and savanna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harpy fruit bat</span> Species of bat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dusky leaf-nosed bat</span> Species of bat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-bellied fruit bat</span> Species of bat

The black-bellied fruit bat is a species of order bat in the family Pteropodidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peters's dwarf epauletted fruit bat</span> Species of bat

Peters's dwarf epauletted fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and moist savanna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demonic tube-nosed fruit bat</span> Species of bat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fijian monkey-faced bat</span> Species of bat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser short-nosed fruit bat</span> Species of bat

The lesser short-nosed fruit bat is a species of megabat within the family Pteropodidae. It is a small bat that lives in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It weighs between 21 and 32 grams, and measures 70 to 127 millimetres. It occurs in many types of habitat, but most frequently in disturbed forest, including lower montane forest and tropical lowland rain forest, plus gardens, mangroves, and vegetation on beaches.

<i>Nyctimene</i> (genus) Genus of bats

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A maternity colony refers to a temporary association of reproductive female bats for giving birth to, nursing, and weaning their pups. The colonies are initiated by pregnant bats. After giving birth, the colony consists of the lactating females and their offspring. After weaning, juveniles will leave the maternity colony, and the colony itself will break apart. The size of a maternity colony is highly variable by species, with some species forming colonies consisting of ten or fewer individuals, while the largest maternity colony in the world in Bracken Cave is estimated to have over 15 million bats.

References

  1. 1 2 Ong, P.; Rosell-Ambal, R.G.B.; Tabaranza, B.; Heaney, L.; Duya, P.; Gonzalez, J.C.; Balete, D.S. (2020). "Otopteropus cartilagonodus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T15665A22122206. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T15665A22122206.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Heideman, Paul D., Jennifer A. Cummings, and Lawrence R. Heaney. "Reproductive timing and early embryonic development in an Old World fruit bat, Otopteropus cartilagonodus (Megachiroptera)." Journal of mammalogy 74.3 (1993): 621-630.
  3. 1 2 3 Roberts, Trina E. Divergence, diversity, distance, and disequilibrium: comparative phylogeography of six Philippine fruit bats (Chiroptera; Pteropodidae). Diss. University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, Committee on Evolutionary Biology, 2005.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Heaney, Lawrence R. "Synopsis of the mammalian fauna of the Philippine Islands." (1998).
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rickart, Eric A., Jennifer A. Mercier, and Lawrence R. Heaney. "Cytogeography of Philippine bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera)." Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 112.3 (1999): 453-469.
  6. ↑ Alviola, Phillip A., et al. "Chapter 2: mammalian diversity patterns on Mount Palali, Caraballo Mountains, Luzon." Fieldiana Life and Earth Sciences(2011): 61-74.
  7. 1 2 Ruedas, L. A., J. R. Demboski, and R. V. Sison. "Morphological and ecological variation in Otopteropus cartilagonodus Kock, 1969 (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) from Luzon, Philippines." Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 107.1 (1994): 1-16.
  8. ↑ Beguelini, Mateus R., et al. "Morphological variation of primary reproductive structures in males of five families of neotropical bats." The Anatomical Record 296.1 (2013): 156-167.
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