The common blossom bat (''Syconycteris australis'') also known as the southern blossom bat or Queensland blossom bat, is a

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 ...

in the family Pteropodidae. The common blossom bat feeds mostly on nectar and pollen rather than fruit. It is one of eight Pteropodidae species on mainland Australia. It is one of the smallest of all nectarivorous megabats.

Description

They are small, weighing only . Body length excluding legs is around long.

Distribution and habitat

They are found in the

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located ...

Salawati Salawati is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua (formerly West Papua), Indonesia. Its area is 1,623 km2. Salawati is separated from New Guinea to the southeast by the Sele Strait (a.k.a. Galowa Str ...

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The large ...

Yapen Yapen (also Japan, Jobi) is an island of Papua, Indonesia. The Yapen Strait separates Yapen and the Biak Islands to the north. It is in Cenderawasih Bay off the north-western coast of the island of New Guinea. To the west is Mios Num Island ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

, the

Aru Islands The Aru Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of . At the 2011 Census the Regency had a ...

, the Bismarck Archipelago,

Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...

, the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, the

Louisiade Archipelago The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands in Papua New Guinea. It is located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread ...

New South Wales, Australia ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and eastern

Queensland, Australia ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. They range from above sea level. They are found in upland

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equa ...

s and the

Littoral Rainforests of New South Wales The Littoral Rainforests of New South Wales is a group of fragmented and endangered ecological communities found by the coast in eastern Australia. Much of this seaside form has been destroyed by mining, tourist development or housing. It is thre ...

Behaviour

They roost singly or in small groups, which makes estimating population based on visual observation difficult. They generally roost in the rainforest subcanopy. They may change roosts daily however (when food was available) distances between subsequent roosts in NSW were short (average 42m at Iluka or 125m at Harrington). They are probably important pollinators, as they carry six times as much pollen as birds while also traveling further in a night. The bumpy satinash tree is an important food source for this species in North Queensland, as 95% of all pollen observed on their fur comes from this species on bats caught near flowering trees. Their home ranges are . When foraging, they prefer to fly along

riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

s. Because their energy demands are high and the energy content of a single flower is low, they must visit the equivalent of 36-48 coast banksia flowers every night. To meet their energy requirements, they are active for a large proportion of the night. During the full moon, they will delay their departure from their roosts. This suggests that they are afraid of predators such as owls that hunt by sight.Law, B. S. (1997). The lunar cycle influences time of roost departure in the common blossom bat, S. australis. Australian Mammalogy, 20, 21-24. Other potential predators include

goanna A goanna is any one of several species of lizards of the genus '' Varanus'' found in Australia and Southeast Asia. Around 70 species of ''Varanus'' are known, 25 of which are found in Australia. This varied group of carnivorous reptiles ranges ...

s and arboreal snakes. Domestic cats are known to capture and injure them. They will enter

torpor Torpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables animals to survive periods of reduced food availability. The term "torpor" can refer to the time ...

when food availability is low, or when the ambient temperature is below . Contrary to other bat species, torpor is more common and pronounced in the summer than in the winter.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1763583 Syconycteris Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters Mammals described in 1867 Bats of Australia Bats of Oceania Bats of New Guinea Mammals of Papua New Guinea Mammals of Western New Guinea Mammals of New South Wales Mammals of Queensland Least concern biota of Oceania