Geoffroy's rousette (''Rousettus amplexicaudatus'') is a

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 ...

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 ...

or Old World

fruit bat 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 sup ...

s. It is one of ten species in the genus ''Rousettus''.

Distribution

Geoffroy's rousette occurs throughout

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

and in the

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. It has been given different definitions. The ...

region of

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

, in

Myanmar 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 C. Wells, Joh ...

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 bo ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

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 ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

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 ...

, the island of

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 eas ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

, the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

Bismarck Archipelago The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km. History The first inhabitants o ...

, and

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 ...

Description

Like other fruit bats, ''R. amplexicaudatus'' has sensitive hearing and sense of smell and good eyesight which helps it to manoeuvre well during flight, specifically at night. What makes it different from other fruit bats is its echolocating ability. It can be distinguished by its grey-brown to brown upperpart which is darker on top of the head and paler underpart which is usually grey-brown.Payne, J. & Francis, C.M. (1985). ''A Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo''. Sabah Society: Malaysia. p. 171. It has long pale hairs on the chin and neck despite having short and sparse fur. It sometimes has pale yellow tufts of hair on the side of its neck which occur in adult for this species, especially males. Most males are substantially larger than females. The most distinguishable figure of this bat besides producing a distinctive, audible clicking call is its wings. It is attached to the sides of the back and separated by a broad band of fur. The lower incisors are bifid, the canines have a longitudinal groove on the outer surface which is slightly medial to center, and the first

premolar The premolars, also called premolar teeth, or bicuspids, are transitional teeth located between the canine and molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per quadrant in the permanent set of teeth, making eight premolars total in the mouth ...

s are smaller than second premolars, especially on the upper jaw. The Sabah Museum specimens had forearm length measurements between for the females and an adult male from Sarawak had forearms long. The external measurements are within the range of recorded in previous studies.

Biology and ecology

Specimens in the

Sabah Museum The Sabah Museum (Malay: ''Muzium Sabah'') is the state museum of Sabah, Malaysia. It is sited on of land at Bukit Istana Lama in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital. History The original Sabah Museum location was established on 15 July 1965 i ...

were collected from coconut plantations on Mantani Island and the highland of

Crocker Range Crocker Range ( ms, Banjaran Crocker) is a mountain range in West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia that separates the west and east coast of Sabah. At an average height of , it is the highest mountain range in the state with the range is named ...

, while the one from

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

was from

Niah Cave Niah National Park, located within Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, is the site of the Niah Caves limestone cave and archeological site. History Alfred Russel Wallace lived for 8 months at Simunjan District with a mining engineer, Robert Co ...

. This medium-sized bat normally roosts in caves, and feeds on fruit, nectar, and pollen. It roosts dark caves, rock crevices and old tombs.(Lekagul and McNeely 1977). The

Monfort Bat Cave Monfort Bat Sanctuary has been the house of a large colony of 2.3 million Rousette fruit bats since recorded history. They cover 75% of the ceilings and walls of their -long cave The sanctuary is located on Samal Island, about east of Davao City, ...

in the southern

has the largest gathering of these bats.

References

External links

IUCN Red List
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1443996 Rousettus Bats of Southeast Asia Bats of Oceania Mammals of Cambodia Mammals of Indonesia Mammals of Laos Mammals of Myanmar Mammals of Papua New Guinea Mammals of the Philippines Mammals of the Solomon Islands Mammals of Thailand Mammals of Vietnam Mammals of Singapore Mammals of Borneo Mammals of Timor Mammals of Western New Guinea Mammals described in 1810 Taxa named by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Bats of New Guinea