Short-nosed bats

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Short-nosed bats
Systematics
Subclass : Higher mammals (Eutheria)
Superordinate : Laurasiatheria
Order : Bats (chiroptera)
Superfamily : Pteropodoidea
Family : Fruit bats (Pteropodidae)
Tribe : Short-nosed bats
Scientific name
Cynopterini
Andersen , 1912

The short-faced fruit bats are a generic group of the family of flying foxes (Pteropodidae). They include 14 genera with around 22 species.

distribution

Short-nosed flying foxes are native to South and Southeast Asia , their range extends from Pakistan and southern China to the Philippines and the Lesser Sunda Islands .

description

Short-nosed flying foxes are small, including the smallest known flying foxes. The length of the head rump varies between five and 15 centimeters, depending on the species, and the weight is nine to 100 grams. Their fur is usually brownish (from yellow-brown to gray-brown) or blackish in color, with the underside often being lighter. In some species the color of the head differs significantly from that of the rest of the body. The tail is short or absent. The nostrils are directed upwards and, similar to the tube-nosed bat , sit on short tubes.

Way of life

In contrast to many other flying foxes, which rest freely on trees, the short-nosed flying foxes often retreat to caves or tree hollows to sleep; some species are also found in mines or buildings. They spend the day resting in small groups and fly in search of food at night. Their diet consists mainly of fruits, some species also consume flowers or pollen.

Reproduction

There is little reliable information about the reproduction of many species. Short-nosed batfish are likely to give birth all year round, with some species giving birth twice a year. The gestation period is around four months, when a single young is usually born. The young animals are weaned after two to three months.

Short nosed bat and humans

Some species are cultivators that often settle in orchards and eat fruits and flowers there, which is why they are persecuted as a plague. In some regions such as northern Thailand and India they are hunted and sold, their meat is considered a medicine that is said to make you strong. Several species, notably those that have a small range, are considered endangered, one species, Latidens salimalii , which only inhabits a small area in southern India, is considered threatened.

Systematics

The closest relatives of the short-nosed fruit bat are the tube- nosed fruit bat , both groups together form the sister taxon of all other fruit bat species.

The genera

  • The two species of the genus Aethalops live on the Malay Peninsula and in Indonesia , they are black or dark brown in color and very small. Their main diet is nectar and pollen.
  • Alionycteris paucidentata occurs only in higher mountain regions on the Philippine island of Mindanao . The species is considered endangered.
  • The spotted short-nosed bat ( Balionycteris maculata ) is the smallest flying fox at all, with a head body length of 5 to 7 centimeters and a weight of 9 to 15 grams. She lives on the Malay Peninsula and Borneo . As with the tube-nosed bat, their wings are dotted with yellow, which serves as camouflage.
  • Chironax melanocephalus is characterized by a black colored head that contrasts with the light brown body. The species is common on the Malay Peninsula and western Indonesia.
  • The genus Cynopterus comprises five species that are distributed from Pakistan and southern China to Indonesia. They are one of the few species of bats that build shelters in palm leaves. In these shelters that the male builds for his females, they give birth to their offspring.
  • Dayak fruit bats ( Dyacopterus ) are the largest species of this group with a length of about 15 centimeters. They live on the Malay Peninsula, the Philippines, and western Indonesia.
  • Haplonycteris fischeri is endemic to the Philippines. The species has a remarkably long thumb and is considered endangered.
  • Latidens salimalii only inhabits a small area in southern India (in the state of Tamil Nadu ). It has only one pair of incisors per jaw and is considered to be threatened due to its small area of ​​distribution and persecution by plantation owners.
  • The genus Megaerops includes four species that are distributed from northeastern India over the Malay Peninsula to Borneo. They are tailless and sometimes characterized by a silver-colored face.
  • Otopteropus cartilagonodus occurs only on the island of Luzon in the north of the Philippines. The species is considered endangered.
  • The Lucas short-nosed bat ( Penthetor lucasi ) is native to the Malay Peninsula and western Indonesia. Their fur is gray in color.
  • The genus Ptenochirus comprises two species that are restricted to the Philippines . They are considered common animals that are often found in coffee, fig, and banana plantations.
  • The Blanford flying fox ( Sphaerias blanfordi ) lives in mountainous regions from Tibet and northern India to Thailand up to 2700 m above sea level. The species has a remarkably small uropatagium (tail fly skin ), which is only a narrow strip along the hind legs.
  • The black- winged bat ( Thoopterus nigrescens ) lives on Sulawesi and neighboring islands. The species has a gray-brown fur.

annotation

The systematics of the fruit bats is largely based on the phylogenetic study of Kate E. Jones et al. a .: A Phylogenetic Supertree of Bats . The authors do not use a rank in the classical sense for the taxa . The designation of this group as a tribe with the ending -ini is therefore chosen arbitrarily, sometimes this taxon is also found as Cynopterinae or Cynopterina.

swell

  1. ↑ Kate E. Jones, Andy Purvis, Ann MacLarnon, Olaf R. Bininda-Emonds, Nancy B. Simmons: A phylogenetic supertree of the bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) . In: Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society . tape 77 , no. 2 , 2002, p. 223-259 , doi : 10.1017 / S1464793101005899 ( molekularesystematik.uni-oldenburg.de [PDF; 5.2 MB ; accessed on May 15, 2018]).