Geoffroy's rousette

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Geoffroy's rousette
Pteropus amplexicaudatus - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam - UBA01 IZ20700035.tif
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Pteropodidae
Genus: Rousettus
Species:
R. amplexicaudatus
Binomial name
Rousettus amplexicaudatus
Geoffroy's Rousette area.png
Geoffroy's Rousette range

Geoffroy's rousette (Rousettus amplexicaudatus) is a species of megabat or Old World fruit bats. It is one of ten species in the genus Rousettus.

Contents

Distribution

Geoffroy's rousette occurs throughout Southeast Asia and in the Malesia region of Oceania, in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, the island of Borneo, East Timor, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, and Papua New Guinea.

Description

Like other fruit bats, R. amplexicaudatus has sensitive hearing and sense of smell and good eyesight which helps it to manoeuvre well during flight, specifically at night. What makes it different from other fruit bats is its echolocating ability. It can be distinguished by its grey-brown to brown upperpart which is darker on top of the head and paler underpart which is usually grey-brown. [2] It has long pale hairs on the chin and neck despite having short and sparse fur. [2] It sometimes has pale yellow tufts of hair on the side of its neck which occur in adult for this species, especially males. [2] Most males are substantially larger than females. The most distinguishable figure of this bat besides producing a distinctive, audible clicking call is its wings. [2] It is attached to the sides of the back and separated by a broad band of fur. [2] The lower incisors are bifid, the canines have a longitudinal groove on the outer surface which is slightly medial to center, and the first premolars are smaller than second premolars, especially on the upper jaw. [3]

The Sabah Museum specimens had forearm length measurements between 82 and 876 millimetres (3.2 and 34.5 in) for the females and an adult male from Sarawak had forearms 81 millimetres (3.2 in) long. The external measurements are within the range of 78 to 87 millimetres (3.1 to 3.4 in) recorded in previous studies.

Biology and ecology

Specimens in the Sabah Museum were collected from coconut plantations on Mantani Island and the highland of Crocker Range, while the one from Sarawak was from Niah Cave. This medium-sized bat normally roosts in caves, and feeds on fruit, nectar, and pollen. [4] It roosts dark caves, rock crevices and old tombs. [5]

The Monfort Bat Cave in the southern Philippines has the largest gathering of these bats. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Rousettus</i> Genus of bats

Rousettus is a genus of Old World fruit bats or megabats, referred to as rousette bats. The genus is a member of the family Pteropodidae. The genus consists of seven species that range over most of Africa to southeast Asia, and the islands of the south Pacific. They are among the few megabats capable of echolocation, and the only genus of megabats known to use vocal echolocation.

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

The Egyptian fruit bat or Egyptian rousette is a species of megabat that is found in Africa, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and the Indian subcontinent. It is one of three Rousettus species with an African-Malagasy range, though the only species of its genus found on continental Africa. The common ancestor of the three species colonized the region in the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene. The species is traditionally divided into six subspecies. It is considered a medium-sized megabat, with adults weighing 80–170 g (2.8–6.0 oz) and possessing wingspans of approximately 60 cm (24 in). Individuals are dark brown or grayish brown, with their undersides paler than their backs.

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

The tailless fruit bat is a species of fruit bat in the family Pteropodidae.

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

The pygmy fruit bat, also known as the grey fruit bat, is a species of megabat.

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

The black-capped fruit bat is a species of megabat in the monotypic genus Chironax.

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

The long-tongued nectar bat, also known as the northern blossom bat, honey nectar bat, least blossom-bat, dagger-toothed long-nosed fruit bat, and lesser long-tongued fruit bat, is a species of megabat. M. minimus is one of the smallest species in the family Pteropodidae, with an average length of 60–85 mm. It has a reddish-brown colouring with relatively long hair compared to the other species. The hair on the abdomen is a lighter colour, and a dark brown stripe runs bilaterally down the top of the head and back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bare-backed rousette</span> Species of bat

The bare-backed rousette is a species of megabat.

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

Leschenault's rousette is a species of fruit bat. The scientific name of the species was first published by Desmarest in 1820.

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

The dayak fruit bat or dyak fruit bat is a relatively rare frugivorous megabat species found only on the Sunda Shelf of southeast Asia, specifically the Malay Peninsula south of the Isthmus of Kra, and the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. There are three species in the genus Dyacopterus: D. spadiceus, D. brooksi and D. rickarti. All are found in the forests of Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Few specimens of any of the three species exist, due not only to their rarity, but also because they rarely enter the subcanopy of the forest where they can be caught in scientists' nets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser false vampire bat</span> Species of bat

The lesser false vampire bat is a bat found in South Asia and Southeast Asia from Sri Lanka and India in the west to Indonesia and the Philippines in the east. They live in caves and tree hollows. They are insectivorous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wall-roosting mouse-eared bat</span> Species of bat

The wall-roosting mouse-eared bat, or Nepalese whiskered myotis is a species of vesper bat whose type locality is Nepal.

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

The Malayan tailless leaf-nosed bat is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae. It is a very small bat which has long and soft fur. The fur coloration is brown to blackish on the dorsal surface and ashy on the ventral surface. It can be distinguished from the other roundleaf bats by its small size and the absence of the tail. It is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leach's single leaf bat</span> Species of bat

Leach's single leaf bat, also known as Greater Antillean long-tongued bat, is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is found in the southern Bahamas and in all the Greater Antilles. It forms large colonies, with up to a few hundred thousand individuals, and feeds on a relatively wide variety of food items including pollen, nectar, fruit and insects.

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

The smaller horseshoe bat is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae. It is found in Australia and Papua New Guinea.

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

The Madagascan rousette or Madagascar rousette, is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.

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

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

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

The greater nectar bat or greater dawn bat is a species of megabat within the genus Eonycteris. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Its range is limited and includes Luzon to Maripipi in the Philippines and scattered parts of Borneo including Tuaran and Ranau in Sabah; Bau, Kuching and Bintulu in Sarawak.

<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.

The Bornean woolly horseshoe bat or Proconsul's horseshoe bat is an endangered species of horseshoe bat found in Malaysia. Though it was discovered in 1959, it was not recognized as a distinct species until 2013.

References

  1. Waldien, D.L.; Wilson, Z.; Adleson, S.; Abdul Aziz, S.; Bates, P.J.J.; Bumrungsri, S.; Furey, N.; Ingle, N.R.; Mildenstein, T.; Phelps, K.; Tanalgo, K.; Soisook, P.; Thong, V.D.; Wiantoro, S.; Tsang, S.M. (2019). "Rousettus amplexicaudatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T19754A22001514. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T19754A22001514.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Payne, J. & Francis, C.M. (1985). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo. Sabah Society: Malaysia. p. 171.
  3. Bonaccorso, F.J. (1998). Bats of Papua New Guinea. Washington, D.C.: Conservation International. pp. 151-155.
  4. (Payne et al. 1985).
  5. (Lekagul and McNeely 1977).
  6. "Escape from the Bat Cave". National Geographic.