| Swift fruit bat | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Pteropodidae |
| Genus: | Thoopterus |
| Species: | T. nigrescens |
| Binomial name | |
| Thoopterus nigrescens (Gray, 1870) | |
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| Swift fruit bat range | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The swift fruit bat (Thoopterus nigrescens) is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. [2]
The swift fruit bat was initially described in 1870 by British zoologist John Edward Gray. [3] He placed it in the genus Cynopterus , with a name of Cynopterus marginatus var. nigrescens. The type specimen had been collected on the Indonesian island of Morotai by Alfred Russel Wallace. [4]
In 1899, German zoologist Paul Matschie created the subgenus Thoopterus within Cynopterus, into which he placed Cynopterus nigrescens. [5] [3] By 1912, Danish mammalogist Knud Andersen classified Thoopterus as a full genus, with T. nigrescens as the type species. [6]
The combined length of the head and body is 94–109 mm (3.7–4.3 in), with a forearm length of 70–82 mm (2.8–3.2 in). Individuals weigh about 67–99 g (2.4–3.5 oz). The fur is grayish-brown. [7]
The swift fruit bat is endemic to Indonesia, where it is found on the following islands: Sulawesi, Buton, Mangole, Wawonii, the Talaud and Sangihe archipelagos, and likely Morotai. It is found at elevations between 0–2,400 m (0–7,874 ft) above sea level. It seems to prefer intact forests, though will also utilize disturbed forests. [1]
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.
Paul Matschie was a German zoologist.
Cynopterus is a genus of megabats. The cynopterine section is represented by 11 genera, five of which occur in Malaysia, namely, Chironax, Balionycteris, Penthetor, Dyacopterus, and Cynopterus. About 30 names for Cynopterus species have been proposed, but only 16 are taxonomically valid forms.
Blanford's fruit bat is a mountain species of megabat. It is found in several countries in South and Southeast Asia.
Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is commonly found across southern Africa.
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.
The demonic tube-nosed fruit bat is a species of bat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea. The holotype specimen was collected in 1979 on New Ireland, in the Bismarck Archipelago. It was described as a new species in 1983. The range of the species may extend to other islands, however the extent of the range is not presently known.
The lesser tube-nosed bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is native to two of the Maluku Islands in northern Indonesia.
Pteropus brunneus is an extinct species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It was said to be found at Percy Island, southeast of Mackay, Queensland, off the northeast coast of Australia.
The great flying fox, also known as the greater flying fox or Bismarck flying fox, is a species of megabat in the genus Pteropus, found throughout lowland areas of New Guinea and in the Bismarck Archipelago. Conflicting evidence suggests that its closest relative is either the spectacled flying fox or, jointly, the Pelew and insular flying foxes. Two subspecies are recognized. At up to 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) in weight, it is among the heaviest bats in the world and the largest bat in Melanesia. It is a gregarious animal which roosts with hundreds or thousands of individuals. In part due to its wide variation in color, it has many taxonomic synonyms, including Pteropus degener, Pteropus papuanus, and Pteropus sepikensis. It may forage during the day or night in search of fruit, including figs or fruits from the family Sapotaceae. It is considered a least-concern species by the IUCN, though its numbers have been negatively impacted by what appeared to be a disease, as well as by hunting for bushmeat that occurs across its range.
The Pemba flying fox is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to the island of Pemba on the coast of Tanzania.
Thoopterus is a genus of megabat. It has two species:
The Borneo fruit bat is a species of megabat found in the mountains of Borneo, specifically East Malaysia and Brunei. It is considered a subspecies of Aethalops alecto by some authors.
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.
Horsfield's fruit bat is a species of megabat native to South East Asia. It is named for Thomas Horsfield, an American naturalist who presented the type specimen to the British Museum.
The minute fruit bat is a species of megabat within the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Sulawesi. C. minutus is a smaller species that lives in rainforests. Continuous bimodal polyoestry has seasonal reproduction. The females of the species reproduce in synchrony, giving birth to offspring 5–7 months apart throughout two separate seasons. Postpartum oestrus occurs after each parturition. In C. minutus, both sexes reach sexual maturity at around 7 months, and females give birth for the first time at around 12 months. Females start having children not long after reaching sexual maturity, and they effectively continue having children indefinitely. Relative to other fruit bats, C. minutus have high rates of reproduction.
The Aru flying fox is a Critically Endangered species of megabat found in the Aru Islands in Indonesia. It was described by Wilhelm Peters in 1867. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the black-bearded flying fox. The species is poorly known, and has not been encountered since the 19th century. It is classified as critically endangered by the IUCN and is listed on CITES appendix II.
The steadfast tube-nosed fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae found in West Papua, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.
The Suhaniah fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is native to Indonesia and was described in 2012.
