Palm bats
| Palm bats | ||||||||||||
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Palm bat ( Eidolon helvum ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Eidolon | ||||||||||||
| Rafinesque , 1815 |
The palm bat ( eidolon ) is a fruit bat genus that occurs in two species in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar .
features
Palm bats reach head-trunk lengths of 14 to 22.7 cm, the wingspan ranges from 72 to 95 cm, the weight is between 110 and 350 g, with males being slightly heavier than females. Diagnostic features of the genus are the absence of white spots on the head, uniform coloring of the dorsal fur, the absence of a ruff or of stiff neck hairs and five molars in the upper jaw and six molars in the lower jaw.
species
- Madagascar palm bat ( Eidolon dupreanum )
- Palm bat ( Eidolon helvum )
Systematics
The genus Eidolon was introduced in 1815 by the American polymath Constantine S. Rafinesque-Schmaltz and in 1997 assigned to the rosette bats (Rousettini). However, some scientists suspect that the genus is not closely related to any other African flying fox genus. In some analyzes the genus Eidolon was identified as a sister group of a clade of Acerodon , Pteralopex and Pteropus , in others there was no evidence of such a relationship. The systematic position of the palm bats is therefore still relatively uncertain.
literature
- Meredith Happold: Genus Eidolon Straw-colored Fruit Bats, page 231-234 in Meredith Happold and David Happold (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume IV. Hedgehogs, Shrews and Bats . Bloomsbury, London, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4081-2254-9
