''Syconycteris'' (blossom bat) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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. There are three described species at present, with more likely to be added. Members of this genus are 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 ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

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 ...

. Their diet mainly consists of nectar and fruit, making them important for pollination and seed dispersal in their environment. Syconycteris bats play an especially important role as pollinators for flowers that require an explosive opening such as ''

Mucuna macrocarpa ''Mucuna'' is a genus of around 100 accepted species of climbing lianas (vines) and shrubs of the Family (biology), family Fabaceae: tribe Phaseoleae, typically found in tropical forests. The leaves are trifoliolate, alternate, or spiraled, and ...

''. This is where the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

and pistill are covered until exposed by an animal. ''Syconycteris'' opens the flower by pushing their snout into the basal section between the banner and carina and then pressing their wings to open. ''Syconycteris'' bats are primary pollinators as the pollen of explosively opened flowers sticks to their fur. Syconycteris is a long tongued nectar feeding bat. They are small compared to other

s and swarm around tall fruit trees. Like closely related '' Macroglossus'' species, their vocalizations consist of a long series of similar trill like bursts with high repetition rate and small changes in dominant frequency. They vocalize when distressed and when fighting against other bats over food. The similarity to the echolocating bat ''

Rousettus ''Rousettus'' is a genus of Old World fruit bats or megabats, referred to as rousette bats. The genus is a member of the family Pteropodidae. The genus consists of seven species that range over most of Africa to southeast Asia, and the islands o ...

'' has led to hypthotheses that ''Syconycteris'' is also capable of echolocation. The Etolo tribe of New Guinea will sometimes include ''Syconycteris'' bats in their diet, along with other bats. Syconycteris is unique among

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 ...

bats because they do not produce spats. Spats are created by slow feeding bats that chew and swallow the juices of their food while pressing the pulp and seeds into a spat or wadge which is then spit out. This makes them more effective seed dispersers because seeds in spats tend to travel less distance and are more vulnerable to fungi compared to seeds that are defecated like those eaten by ''Syconycteris''.

Taxonomy

They are part of the Australasian nectarivorous clade along with the genus '' Macroglossus''. Its placement in this clade has changed over time as studies in DNA testing have grown more in depth. Previously the two were thought to make up Cynopterinae, but it was later found the Cynopterinae is monophyletic and not closely related to ''Syconycteris''. The experiment was the most inclusive analysis of molecular data for pteropodids to date. It used data from five loci. Four mitochondrial and one nuclear gene representing 43 species including exemplars from seven cynopterine genera. Later reanalysis with more sequences using different substitution to gap costs resulted in the current classification. Inclusion of 236 non-molecular characters, mostly morphological, supported the trees. Nyctimeninae and

Cynopterinae The subfamily Cynopterinae ("flying dogs") comprises 24 species of pteropodid bats distributed exclusively in South and Southeast Asia. The subfamily contains the following genera: * '' Aethalops'' – pygmy fruit bats * '' Alionycteris'' * '' ...

were found to not be closely related to ''Syconycteris'' as previously thought because both are monophyletic. Grouping ''Syconycteris'' with ''Macroglossus'' has been supported by further studies into mitochondrial DNA. ''Syconycteris'' has appeared only recently in the fossil records with no ancestor fossils recovered yet.

Species

* Halmahera blossom bat, ''Syconycteris carolinae'' * Moss-forest blossom bat, ''Syconycteris hobbit'' * Common blossom bat, ''Syconycteris australis''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2434332 Bat genera Taxa named by Paul Matschie Taxonomy articles created by Polbot