The lesser short-nosed fruit bat (''Cynopterus brachyotis'') is a species of

megabat Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera ( bats). They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genera ''Acerodon'' and '' Pteropus''— flying foxes. They are the only member of the s ...

within the family Pteropodidae. It is a small bat that lives in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It weighs between , and measures . It occurs in many types of habitat, but most frequently in disturbed forest, including lower montane forest and tropical lowland rain forest, plus gardens,

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

s, and vegetation on beaches.Payne, J., C. M. Francis, and K. Phillips. (1985). ''A Field Guide to The Mammals Of Borneo''. Malaysia: The Sabah Society. p.173.

Description

Lesser short-nosed fruit bats are generally brown to yellowish brown with a brighter collar. Adult males have dark orange collars whereas adult females have yellowish collars. An indistinct collar is observed in some immature bats. The edges of the ears and the wing bones are usually white. Individuals have two pairs of lower incisors, a fox-like face and large dark eyes.Nowak, R. (1997)
''Cynopterus''
. (On-line). ''Walker's Mammals of the World'' Online. Accessed January 09, 2009. The head and body length is , the forearm length is , tail length is , and ear length is . There are nine subspecies of lesser short-nosed fruit bat.Mickleburg, S. P., A. M. Hutson, and P. A. Racey. 1992. Old world fruit bats: an action plan for their conservation. IUCN/FFPS/ZSL/WWF/JWPT/NWF/Sultanate of Oman. Corbet and

Hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

listed 19 alternate names of ''C. brachyotis'', which include: ''Pachysoma brachyotis'', ''P. duvaucelii'', ''P. brevicaudatum'', ''P. luzoniense'', ''C. grandidieri'', ''C. marginatus var. scherzeri'', ''C. marginatus var. ceylonensis'', ''C. marginatus var. philippensis'', ''C. marginatus var. cuminggii'', ''C. marginatus var. andamanensis'', ''C. brachyoma'', ''C. montanoi'', ''C. minutus'', ''C. minor'', ''C. babi'', ''C. archipelagus'' and ''C. nusatenggara''. Kitchener and Maharadatunkamsi considered ''luzoniensis'' and ''minutus'' as separate species while Hill and ThonglongyaHill JE, Thonglongya K. 1972. Bats from Thailand and Cambodia. Bulletin British Museum of Natural History (Zoology) 22:171–196. transferred ''angulatus'' to ''C. sphinx''. The lifespan of the lesser short-nosed fruit bat is approximately 20 to 30 years.Crichton, E. and P. Krutzsch. (2000). ''Reproductive Biology of Bats''. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Similar species

The greater short-nosed fruit bat is similar to the lesser short-nosed fruit bat but has generally longer forearms, longer ears and a much longer skull. ''P. lucasi'' has only one pair of lower incisors, a lack of white edges to the ears and a usually greyer color. ''C. horsfieldi'' is larger, with heavily cusped molars. ''M. ecaudatus'' usually has a more upturned nose, lacks a bright collar and tail, and has only one pair of lower incisors.

Diet

Lesser short-nosed fruit bats are

frugivorous A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance an ...

. They prefer aromatic fruit, especially mangoes. The bats feed mainly on small fruits by sucking out the juices and soft pulp. They also eat nectar and pollen.

Reproduction

The mating system of lesser short-nosed fruit bats is polygynous. In the Philippines, most populations give birth twice a year and pregnant females have been found in almost all months. The period of gestation is approximately 3.5 to 4 months. The mother nurses the young with milk for about six to eight weeks. It takes about a year for the male to become sexually mature, and most females become pregnant at approximately six to eight months of age. Medway observed that breeding was non-seasonal in Peninsular Malaysia and that a single young was produced and carried by the female during the early stage of its life. Breeding is also non-seasonal in Thailand.Lekagul B. and J. A. McNeely. 1977. ''Mammals of Thailand''. Sahankarnbhat, Bangkok. Most pregnancies occur from March to June with peaks in January and September. Lactation corresponds with the peak of the rainy season as well as the fruiting season. Both sexes take care of the young. Males play an active role in lactation and feeding the young. They have mammary glands that are the same size as those of the female and exceed 8% of their overall body mass.

Behavior

Lesser short-nosed fruit bats prefer to roost in small groups in trees, under leaves, and in caves. Young males may roost alone. It is common for one male to roost with up to four females. Females may gather in groups of up to 20. To feed, the bats bite off the center part of palm fruit clusters, leaving a hollow for hanging, which is also the method they use to construct a shelter. Males may spend more than two months chewing the veins of leaves and palm fronds until they fall to form a shelter. Individuals use tactile, visual, and acoustic stimuli to communicate. They forage with their acute sense of smell and navigate with their keen vision.

Distribution and habitat

The lesser short-nosed fruit bat

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...

s were collected from the Dewei River in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

on September 12, 1836, and at Naga Cave near Jammut on the Teweh River, Borneo. They are widely distributed in Sri Lanka, southwest and northeast

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...

, southern China, southern

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra,

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

, Bali, Sulawesi, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and also on the Lesser Sunda Islands. They are found from sea level up to 1600 m in Borneo. The nominate subspecies, ''C. b. brachyotis'', is distributed in Borneo,

Lombok Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is ...

, Peninsular

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, the Philippines and Sulawesi. It is found widespread from sea level to 1,600 meters in altitude. ''C. b. altitudinis'' is confined to the highlands of Peninsular Malaysia, from the

Cameron Highlands The Cameron Highlands ( ms, Tanah Tinggi Cameron, , ta, கேமரன் மலை) is a district in Pahang, Malaysia, occupying an area of . To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with ...

to Gunung Bunga Buah. ''C. b. brachysoma'' is found on the Andaman Islands; ''C. b. cylonensis'' in Sri Lanka; ''C. b. concolor'' in Enggano; ''C. b. hoffetti'' in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

; ''C. b. insularum'' on the

Kangean Islands The Kangean Islands or simply Kangean ( Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Kangean'') is a collective name referred to the area of Kangean (the main island) and its surrounding islands lie in the north of Bali in northern Bali Sea, northwest of the ...

; ''C. b. javanicus'' on

; and ''C. b. minutus'' on

Nias Nias ( id, Pulau Nias, Nias language: ''Tanö Niha'') (sometimes called Little Sumatra in English) is an island located off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago () of which the island is the centre, ...

Ecological and economic importance

Lesser short-nosed fruit bats are free of terrestrial predation because of their ability to fly. Some human cultures consume them as a delicacy. They play important roles in plant

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...

. Plants such as bananas, avocados, dates, mangoes and peaches depend on them for seed dispersal. The bats are considered to be crop pests since they consume and damage fruit.

Conservation status

Lesser short-nosed fruit bats are designated a least-concern species by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) because the population is widely distributed, stable and still abundant. Possible threats may be habitat loss due to development, dams, and deforestation. The animals are being hunted for medical purposes, as reported in ICZN 2006.Duan'erQuanfu
''Cynopterus brachyotis'', Lesser Short-nosed Fruit Bat.
Accessed January 09, 2009.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1770782 Cynopterus Bats of Asia Bats of Southeast Asia Bats of Indonesia Bats of Malaysia Mammals of Bangladesh Mammals of Borneo Mammals of Myanmar Mammals of China Mammals of Cambodia Mammals of India Mammals of Laos Mammals of Sri Lanka Mammals of Singapore Mammals of Thailand Mammals of Vietnam Mammals described in 1838 Bats of India