The Palawan fruit bat (''Acerodon leucotis''), also known as the Palawan flying fox, 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 ...

found in forests of

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...

Balabac Balabac Island is the southernmost island of the Palawan province, and therefore the westernmost undisputed island in the Philippines, only about north from Sabah, Malaysia, across the Balabac Strait. Administratively, the island forms the main ...

and

Busuanga Busuanga, officially the Municipality of Busuanga ( tgl, Bayan ng Busuanga), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,617 people. History Oral tradition has it ...

in 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 ...

. It is listed as vulnerable 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 ...

and is declining due to hunting and

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Physical description

The Palawan fruit bats have a head-and-body length of , with a forearm length of .Heaney ''et al.'' (2010).
Acerodon leucotis.
' Synopsis of Philippine Mammals.

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...

. They lack a tail. The fur and wings are brown; the latter sometimes mottled with paler splotches.

Behavior and ecology

Like almost all

megabats 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 ...

, the Palawan fruit bat is

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

.Welbergen, Justin
"Brief History of Megachiroptera."
Department of Zoology. Behavioural Ecology Group. Web. 1 December 2011. Unlike many of its relatives, this species does not form large, conspicuous roosts. It likely feeds on fruits such as

figs 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 ...

. It can reach an age of at least 5 years.

Conservation status

This species has been listed on Appendix II of

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

since 1990 and is considered vulnerable by the

. The major threats are hunting and

. It is expected that much of its remaining forest habitat will be converted into plantations in the future. Since it does not form large colonies and roosting sites are inconspicuous, it has proven hard to find appropriate survey methods for precisely determining its status, but it is believed to have declined by more than 30% over the last 15 years.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q301741 Acerodon Mammals of the Philippines Endemic fauna of the Philippines Fauna of Palawan Mammals described in 1950 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Bats of Southeast Asia Taxa named by Colin Campbell Sanborn