The tailless fruit bat (''Megaerops ecaudatus'') is a species of fruit bat in the family Pteropodidae.

Distribution

Individuals have been found in the lowland primary

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

at Poring in

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

and Taleban in

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 b ...

Bario Bario is a community of 13 to 16 villages located on the Kelabit Highlands in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, lying at an altitude of 1000 m (3280 ft) above sea level. It is located close to the Sarawak-Kalimantan border, 178 ...

highland and secondary forest of Balui, both in

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a 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 Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

. ''M. ecaudatus'' ranges in the primary forest and open

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

from

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 ...

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

, Sumatra; Kinabalu, Danum, Tawau, and Tenom in

; Temburong and Tasik Merimbun in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...

; Bario in Sarawak; to Kapuas and

Kutai Kutai is a historical region in what is now known as East Kalimantan, Indonesia on the island of Borneo and is also the name of the native ethnic group of the region (known as ''Urang Kutai'' or "the Kutai people"), numbering around 300,000 w ...

in Kalimantan.

Biology and ecology

Two males and two females have been captured in various habitats. An adult female was collected in April, 1995, and adult male in April, 1996. A subadult female was taken from the Balui secondary forest in June, 1994, while an immature was collected from the primary forest in Taleban on 28 March 1997. In Cameron Highlands, Peninsula Malaysia, females were pregnant in February and extending to March and June. Females with suckling juveniles were also observed in November.(Medway 1978). A specimen MTA96004 was collected in the canopy net approximately 30 m above ground level. The specimen BD013 was collected at 1,100 m elevation in Bario upland. According to Lekagul and McNeely (1977), ''M. ecaudatus'' has been recorded both in the lowlands and on mountains up to 3,000 m in Thailand.

References

*Hall LS, Gordon G. Grigg, Craig Moritz, Besar Ketol, Isa Sait, Wahab Marni and M.T. Abdullah. 2004. Biogeography of fruit bats in Southeast Asia. Sarawak Museum Journal LX(81):191-284. *Karim, C., A.A. Tuen and M.T. Abdullah. 2004. Mammals. Sarawak Museum Journal Special Issue No. 6. 80: 221—234. *Mohd. Azlan J., Ibnu Maryanto, Agus P. Kartono and M.T. Abdullah. 2003 Diversity, Relative Abundance and Conservation of Chiropterans in Kayan Mentarang National Park, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Sarawak Museum Journal 79: 251-265. *Hall LS, Richards GC, Abdullah MT. 2002. The bats of Niah National Park, Sarawak. Sarawak Museum Journal. 78: 255-282.

External links

Bat World SanctuaryBat Conservation International
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1767154 Megaerops Bats of Southeast Asia Bats of Indonesia Bats of Malaysia Mammals of Borneo Mammals of Brunei Mammals of Thailand Fauna of Sumatra Least concern biota of Asia Mammals described in 1837