The bare-backed fruit bat or Moluccan naked-backed fruit bat (''Dobsonia moluccensis'') is a fruit bat in the family Pteropodidae.

Taxonomy and etymology

It was described as a new species in 1830 by

Jean René Constant Quoy Jean René Constant Quoy (10 November 1790 in Maillé, Vendée, Maillé – 4 July 1869 in Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, Rochefort) was a French naval surgeon, zoologist and anatomist. In 1806, he began his medical studies at the school of naval ...

and

Joseph Paul Gaimard Joseph Paul Gaimard (31 January 1793 – 10 December 1858) was a French naval surgeon and naturalist. Biography Gaimard was born at Saint-Zacharie on January 31, 1793. He studied medicine at the naval medical school in Toulon, subsequent ...

who placed it in the now-defunct bat genus ''Hypoderma'', with the scientific name ''H. moluccensis''. Its relationship with ''

Dobsonia magna The New Guinea naked-backed fruit bat (''Dobsonia magna'' or ''Dobsonia moluccensis magna'') is a species of megabat native to Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian islands of Waigeo, Yapen, Batanta, and Misool Misool, formerly spelled Mysol (D ...

'' requires further investigation. Its species name "'' moluccensis''" means "belonging to the Moluccas," which is where the species is found.

Description

Its fur is brown and its feet have distinctive white claws. It is smaller than the New Guinea naked-backed fruit bat. Males weigh while females weigh . Its ears are pointed, and its second digits lack claws, unlike flying foxes. Its wings attach at the back along the spine rather than along the sides of the body.

Biology and ecology

The bare-backed fruit bat is a seasonal breeder, with the mating season from April to June. Females give birth from mid-August through November. It is found in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It has been documented from above sea level. As of 2016, it is considered a least-concern species by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q301753, from2=Q4860260 Dobsonia Bats of Australia Mammals of Queensland Bats of Oceania Bats of Southeast Asia Bats of Indonesia Mammals of Timor Mammals described in 1830 Taxa named by Jean René Constant Quoy Taxa named by Joseph Paul Gaimard Bats of New Guinea