''Rousettus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of Old World fruit bats or megabats, referred to as rousette bats. The genus is a member of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Pteropodidae. The genus consists of seven

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

Mammal Species of the World - Browse: Rousettus
/ref> that range over most of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

to southeast

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, and the islands of the south

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. They are among the few megabats capable of echolocation, and the only genus of megabats known to use vocal echolocation.

Classification

Genus ''Rousettus'' – rousette fruit bats * Geoffroy's rousette, ''R. amplexicaudatus'' *

Egyptian fruit bat The Egyptian fruit bat or Egyptian rousette (''Rousettus aegyptiacus'') is a species of megabat that is found in Africa, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and the Indian subcontinent. It is one of three '' Rousettus'' species with an African-M ...

or Egyptian rousette, ''R. aegyptiacus'' * Leschenault's rousette, ''R. leschenaulti'' * Linduan rousette, ''R. linduensis'' * Comoro rousette, ''R. obliviosus'' * Bare-backed rousette, ''R. spinalatus'' * Madagascan rousette, ''R. madagascariensis'' The species in the genera '' Boneia'', '' Stenonycteris'', and '' Pilonycteris'' were also formerly classified in ''Rousettus'', but phylogenetic analysis supports them being their own genera.

References

Bat genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{fruit-bat-stub