The dark fruit-eating bat (''Artibeus obscurus''), is a

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

Description

Dark fruit-eating bats are relatively small, with an average body length of , and weighing from . Their fur is longer and darker than that of their closest relatives, being dark brown to sooty black over most of the body, with a white frosting. The underparts are paler, and there are also faint stripes of pale fur on the face. The

nose-leaf A nose-leaf, or leaf nose, is an often large, lance-shaped nose, found in bats Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals ...

is broad, with a distinct horseshoe separated from the upper lip. The snout is relatively narrow for a bat of its small size, and the ears are rounded, with a sharply pointed tragus.

Distribution and habitat

Dark-fruit eating bats are found throughout the Amazon Basin. They are known from all but the southernmost parts of Brazil, from

the Guyanas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * G ...

, and from the Amazonian regions of countries from

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

to Bolivia. They inhabit rainforests from sea level to , and, in the southern part of their range, savannah and patchy semi-deciduous forests. There are no recognised subspecies.

Biology

The bats are generally low-flying, travelling close to the ground through forested terrain. They spend the day roosting under leaves or flaking pieces of bark about above the ground. They feed on

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

s, and the fruit of trees such as shimbillo and uvilla. Mating takes place between September and November, and results in the birth of a single offspring.

Gallery

File:Artibeus obscurus teeth.jpg, Artibeus obscurus and its teeth File:Artibeus obscurus.jpeg, ''Artibeus obscurus skull'' File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - ZMA.MAM.2449.a lat - Artibeus obscurus - skull.jpeg File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - ZMA.MAM.2449.a pal - Artibeus obscurus - skull.jpeg

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q139432 Artibeus Bats of South America Bats of Brazil Fauna of the Amazon Mammals of Bolivia Mammals of Colombia Mammals of Ecuador Mammals of French Guiana Mammals of Guyana Mammals of Peru Mammals of Suriname Mammals of Venezuela Mammals described in 1826