Kalong

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kalong
Kalong

Kalong

Systematics
Superordinate : Laurasiatheria
Order : Bats (chiroptera)
Family : Fruit bats (Pteropodidae)
Tribe : Actual fruit bats (Pteropodini)
Genre : Pteropus
Type : Kalong
Scientific name
Pteropus vampyrus
( Linnaeus , 1758)

The Kalong ( Pteropus vampyrus ), illustrative, also Kalong Flying Fox called, is a mammal of the family of flying foxes (Pteropodidae). He is one of the largest living bats . Whether it is the largest bat is controversial; The golden crowned flying fox and the Indian giant bat are also known to have similar dimensions.

features

Kalongs reach a head body length of up to 40 centimeters, the tail is missing as with almost all fruit bats. The wingspan is up to 1.7 meters and the weight is up to 1 kilogram.

In physique it corresponds to the other flying foxes, the flight membrane is stretched by the extended second to fifth fingers and reaches to the ankles. The muzzle protrudes like a dog, the eyes are rather large and the ears relatively small and slightly pointed. The fur of the animals is gray-brown in color, in the shoulder area it has a noticeable yellow spot.

distribution and habitat

Kalongs are native to Southeast Asia . The distribution area extends from southern Myanmar , Thailand and Indochina over the Philippines to the islands of Borneo , Java and Timor . Their habitat are forests and swamp areas, they are often found on small, offshore islands.

Way of life

Like most bats, kalongs are nocturnal. During the day they usually sleep hanging from trees, forming large colonies that (at least earlier) could contain 100,000 animals. In the evening they go in search of food, covering distances of up to 50 kilometers, often across the open sea. At the feeding places they split up into small groups. Once an animal has found a good tree, it defends it in front of its fellow species by flapping its wings or growling. At dawn they return to their resting places.

The diet of the kalongs consists mainly of fruits, but they also consume flowers, nectar and pollen.

Reproduction

After a gestation period of around six months, the female usually gives birth to a single young. The births within a colony take place almost at the same time, mostly in the months of February to May. The mother carries the young animal around with her for the first few days, later she leaves it at the resting place. The boys are weaned at two to three months and sexually mature at 18 to 24 months. Life expectancy is estimated at up to 30 years.

ecology

Kalong fruit bats are important pollinators for durian trees , an economically important crop in Southeast Asia .

Danger

The IUCN lists kalongs as "low risk".

The only German owners are the ZOOM-Erlebniswelt in Gelsenkirchen and, as a long-standing breeder, Wilhelma in Stuttgart.

literature

  • Ronald M. Nowak: Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999. ISBN 0-8018-5789-9

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Sheema A. Aziz, Gopalasamy R. Clements, Kim R. McConkey, Tuanjit Sritongchuay, Saifful Pathil, Muhammad Nur Hafizi Abu Yazid, Ahimsa Campos ‐ Arceiz, Pierre ‐ Michel Forget, Sara Bumrungsri: Pollination by the locally endangered island flying fox ( Pteropus hypomelanus) enhances fruit production of the economically important durian (Durio zibethinus) . In: Ecology and Evolution . tape 7 , no. 21 , September 18, 2017, p. 8670-8684 , doi : 10.1002 / ece3.3213 .
  2. ↑ [1] ZTL 16.6

Web links

Commons : Pteropus vampyrus  - Collection of images, videos and audio files