Franquet's epauletted fruit bat (''Epomops franqueti'') 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 su ...
in the family Pteropodidae, and is one of three different species of epauletted bats.
Franquet's epauletted fruit bat has a range of habitats, varying from Subsaharan forest to equatorial tropics.
Range and habitat
Franquet's epauletted fruit bat ranges from
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
to
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...
and south to
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
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, religion_year = 2020
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, coordina ...
and
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
.
Specifically, it is found in Angola,
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
,
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
,
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
,
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
,
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, Ivory Coast,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
, South Sudan,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
,
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
,
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
, and possibly Zambia. Reports of this species from
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
appear to be erroneous.
[
Its natural habitat are subtropical or tropical dry, moist lowland, and mangrove forests, subtropical or tropical swamps, and dry ]savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
.[
]
Description
The Franquet's epauletted fruit bat was first described by Robert F. Tomes in 1860 and classified as ''Epomophorus francqueti'' from a specimen in the French National Collection forwarded to it by a Dr Franquet of the French Imperial Navy. The habitat location has been mentioned as "Gaboon". The type location is considered to be as Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...
and no subspecies have been recognised.
It is a tail-less brown bat with large white epaulette
Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of military rank, rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''sh ...
s, white on the middle of the belly and white earspots.[ Accessed through Google Books, limited preview. Original from Oxford University, digitized on 10 May 2006.] It has a head and body length and forearm length . The body weight of a female bat ranges from while that of a male bat ranges from . Male bats have two pharyngeal sacs and shoulder pouches lined with glandular membranes. The epaulettes are due to white hair tufts and are prominent in dried laboratory specimens but may be concealed due to the shoulder pouches being contracted in the case of live bats. The epaulettes help spread olfactory cues by dispersing chemicals produced in the glandular shoulder patches.
Behaviour
The adult male Franquet's bat has a bony voice box and emits a high pitched call which is heard throughout the night. This call may last several minutes and sounds like "kyurnk" at close range and a musical whistle from far off. Franquet's bats, like many other large frugivorous bats, cannot echo-locate.
The males frequently perch by night in favourite trees generally a 100 meters or so apart and call noisily, display the epaulettes prominently while calling. The males increase their call rate in the presence of females; one male has been recorded as emitting 10,000 calls over a period of just three hours on one evening. The calls of such males can be heard as far as a mile off and have been compared to a "flock of excited crows".
Franquet's bats are found in both forests and open country, roosting in trees and bushes by day when they are quite alert, often at a height of . Not being gregarious, they are found either alone or in groups of two or three.
Franquet's bat, like other epauletted fruit bats feeds mainly by night on fruit, nectar and the petals of certain flowers, making much noise while feeding. Suction, rather than mastication, appears to be the primary mode of consumption of food by ''Epomops'' bats.
The extensible lips protrude and engulf the fruit. The hard rind is then pierced with the canines and premolars. The jaws squeeze the fruit while the tongue presses the fruit upwards onto the hard ridges of the palate; the juice being suctioned through the small opening at the rear of the mouth leading to a large pharynx.
Occasionally, bats stuff their cheek pouches and fly to safe perches to eat where they move the contents from one cheek pouch to another, chewing with the large sharp teeth and swallowing the juices. Once the juice has all been extracted, they spit out the fibrous mass in the form of a pellet, large masses of which can be seen below trees where bats have been feeding.
Reproduction
In Uganda, Franquet's bat has been recorded as having two breeding seasons in a year, timed to coincide the births with the advent of the two rainy seasons prevalent in those regions. The gestation period lasts for five to six months. In the first breeding season implantation takes place in April and birth in September while in the second breeding season implantation takes place in late September and birth in late February. At birth the young are in weight. Studies in Congo, Zaire and Ivory Coast indicate similar patterns of reproduction in these areas too.
Disease vector
Franquet's epauletted fruit bat is one of three species of African fruit bat, of which all are part of the diet of humans within Gabon and Congo, found to have ''Ebolavirus'' antibodies in their serum. Viral RNA has also been isolated on at least one occasion. It is not known whether these species are incidental hosts or a reservoir of ''Ebolavirus'' infection for humans and other terrestrial mammals.
Conservation status
Franquet's fruit bat is widely spread, has a large population, and present in many protected areas. It has been given a status of "Least Concern". The species is adaptable and no direct conservation measures are thought to be necessary at present.[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q303030
Epomops
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Mammals described in 1860