Salim Ali's fruit bat (''Latidens salimalii'') is a rare

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 s ...

species in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

genus ''Latidens''. It was first collected by Angus Hutton, a planter and naturalist in the High Wavy Mountains in the Western Ghats of Theni district,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

in 1948. It was initially misidentified as a short-nosed fruit bat (''Cynopterus'') but later identified by

Kitti Thonglongya Kitti Thonglongya (, October 6, 1928 - February 12, 1974) was an eminent Thai ornithologist and mammalogist. He is probably best known for two discoveries of endangered species. Life Thonglongya was born in Bangkok and graduated with a degree in ...

as a new species and was named after Indian ornithologist

Salim Ali Sálim Moizuddin Abdul Ali (12 November 1896 – 20 June 1987) was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist. Sometimes referred to as the "''Birdman of India''", Salim Ali was the first Indian to conduct systematic bird surveys across Indi ...

in 1972.

Description

It is medium-sized and has no external

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammal ...

. Ears are oval with rounded tips. The head is covered by blackish brown fur and the wing is light brown in colour and the underparts are light grey-brown with the brown wing membrane ( Patagium) hairless. It has fifteen

palatal The palate () is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly separ ...

ridges. The

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ships * Ros ...

is long and narrow and the palate is very long especially postdental portion. Post orbital

foramina In anatomy and osteology, a foramen (;Entry "foramen"
in

are absent.

Incisor Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wher ...

s 1 pair and peg like, cheek teeth brad. First premolars are very small and slightly exceeds the incisors in the crown area. Body length is 10 cm, hindfeet 0.8–1.5 cm, forearm 6.6 cm. It was observed that these bats eat fresh fruits of '' Elaeocarpus oblongus'' (''Rudraksh'' or bead tree) and the figs ''

Ficus glomerata ''Ficus racemosa'', the cluster fig, red river fig or gular, is a species of plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to Australia and tropical Asia. It is a fast-growing plant with large, very rough leaves, usually attaining the size of a la ...

'' (cluster fig), '' Ficus macrocarpa'' (Indian laurel fig) and '' Ficus beddomei'' (''Thavital'', a strangler fig).

Range

The first description of the bat was from a single specimen collected at an altitude of 750 meters in the High Wavy Mountains of the Annamalai Western Ghats, Theni district,

, South India. In 2002 the Indian government added the Wroughton's free-tailed bat (''Otomops wroughtonii'') and Salim Ali's fruit bat (''Latidens salimalii'') to Schedule I of the

Wildlife Protection Act The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for protection of plants and animal species. Before 1972, India had only five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established scheduled pr ...

, affording these two species the highest level of protection. The other 112 species of bats in India were not affected."No Longer Vermin"
Bat Conservation International Newsletter, Vol 2, No. 2 (February 2003)

Conservation

Salim Ali's fruit bat was listed as critically endangered in 1996, and has been considered an endangered species since 2004. It meets the criteria for this designation because of its small population size of fewer than 1,000 individuals. Additionally, it is experiencing population decline, with the population expected to contract by a further 20% by 2032 due to hunting for bushmeat, loss and degradation of caves, and

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q301489 Mammals described in 1972 Nature conservation in India Mammals of India Memorials to Salim Ali