Spotted short-nosed bat
| Spotted short-nosed bat | ||||||||||||
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Spotted short-nosed bat ( Balionycteris maculata ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Balionycteris | ||||||||||||
| Matschie , 1899 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Balionycteris maculata | ||||||||||||
| ( Thomas , 1893) |
The spotted short-nosed bat ( Balionycteris maculata ) is the smallest known species of flying fox . It is native to Indonesia and Malaysia and is the only species in the genus Balionycteris .
description
The spotted short-nosed bat differs from other flying foxes because of its brightly spotted wings and the fact that it only has a single pair of lower incisors. Similar species such as Chironax melanocephalus and species in the genus Cynopterus have two pairs of lower incisors and no pattern on the wings. Balionycteris maculata has large eyes and no tail. The fur is soft and dark brown, gray-brown on the belly. The flight skin is also dark brown and has light spots especially along the joints and fingers, which probably serve as camouflage. The thumb and index finger each have a claw. The nostrils are dilated and wide apart. The head-torso length of the spotted short-nosed bat averages 61 mm and weighs 13.4 g. In Malaysia, the males are smaller than the females but do not differ in weight. The wingspan is 28 cm.
Way of life
The spotted short-nosed bat has long, narrow wings, which makes it a fast flier. It feeds on small fruits from different tree species. When searching for food, they limit themselves to an area within a radius of 1 km around the hanging place.
During the day, the animals hang in small groups of usually one male with up to nine females in ant and termite nests hollowed out by males, as well as holes in the roots of epiphytic plants. Animals that hang alone are always males.
Reproduction
Females can become pregnant for the first time from 10 months of age. Balionycteris maculata gives birth to a young twice a year after a gestation period of about 135 days. The young are born with their eyes and ears closed and suckled up to an age of 40 to 80 days. The average birth weight is 3.5 g.
distribution and habitat
The spotted short-nosed bat is found in Malaysia and Indonesia . There are also individual reports of local occurrences in Thailand . The species is dependent on primary rainforest. The IUCN classifies its population as not endangered thanks to its wide distribution.
literature
- R. Hodgkinson, TH Kunz: Balionycteris maculata. In: Mammalian Species. Number 793, 2006, pp. 1-3.
swell
- ^ R. Hodgkinson, ST Balding, A. Zubaid, TH Kunz: Roosting ecology and social organization of the spotted-winged fruit bat, Balionycteris maculata (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae), in a Malaysian lowland dipterocarp forest. In: Journal of Tropical Ecology. 19, 2003, pp. 667-676.
- ↑ Balionycteris maculata in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species .
