The Spotted-wing fruit bat (scientific name: Balionycteris maculata) is the smallest fruit bat in the world. Like all fruit bats in the Old World tropics, the Spotted-wing fruit bat has very large eyes, because it relys on vision to navigate at night. Unlike the insectivorous bats, the Old World fruit bats do not echolocate with ultrasonic frequencies, although several species do click their tongues as a very simple form of echolocation when in their caves.
Physical Description
The Spotted-wing fruit bat is the smallest species in the order Chiropteraca: it can achieve a length of 50 to 66 millimeters (mm), and can have a body mass as high as 14.5 grams. This creature, as the smallest member of the flying foxes, has no external tail, but manifests a short nose, and a length of the forearm ranging from 39 to 43 mm. This fruit-eating bat has a claw on the second digit of each hand, enabling it to cling to fruit trees and break into tough-skinned fruit with its strong jaws.
The wings are broad and rounded and are a dark brown flecked with small whitish or pink spots, particularly on the finger joints. This is how Balionycteris maculata derives its name, since maculata comes from the latin word for spotted,maculatus.
The black, dog-like face has large eyes, with a pale spot beneath each. The nostrils are long and somewhat tubular, and the ears are small. These fruit bats have unique dentition, in that they only have one pair of lower incisors.
The soft fur is very dark brown on the back, and paler on the underside. Pale spots contrast with the dark wing membranes, and often highlight the joints of the finger bones.
Habitat
Balionycteris maculata occurs chiefly in forest habitats, the Spotted-winged fruit bat roosts primarily in the lower canopy. It is found from the lowlands to montane forest, and prefers to roost in palm trees and ferns that grow on the trunks of large forest trees, as well as in the active nests of tree-dwelling ants, and the unoccupied tree-nests of termites. The small size and excellent manouvreability of this species enables it to forage in the cluttered forest understory, where larger fruit bats have difficulties flying.
Food and Feeding Behavior
As the common name suggests, this mammal is frugivorous, primarily feeding on fruit, pollen, and nectar, and they are particularly fond of small figs. Both male and females forage within approximately on kilometer of their roost. They consumes fruit by utilizing the juices and spitting out the fibers. It has been reported that this animal also feeds on insects. The bats locate food by smell as well as by sight. This species does not exhibit an advanced echolocation system.
Reference:
Physical Description
The Spotted-wing fruit bat is the smallest species in the order Chiropteraca: it can achieve a length of 50 to 66 millimeters (mm), and can have a body mass as high as 14.5 grams. This creature, as the smallest member of the flying foxes, has no external tail, but manifests a short nose, and a length of the forearm ranging from 39 to 43 mm. This fruit-eating bat has a claw on the second digit of each hand, enabling it to cling to fruit trees and break into tough-skinned fruit with its strong jaws.
The wings are broad and rounded and are a dark brown flecked with small whitish or pink spots, particularly on the finger joints. This is how Balionycteris maculata derives its name, since maculata comes from the latin word for spotted,maculatus.
The black, dog-like face has large eyes, with a pale spot beneath each. The nostrils are long and somewhat tubular, and the ears are small. These fruit bats have unique dentition, in that they only have one pair of lower incisors.
The soft fur is very dark brown on the back, and paler on the underside. Pale spots contrast with the dark wing membranes, and often highlight the joints of the finger bones.
Habitat
Balionycteris maculata occurs chiefly in forest habitats, the Spotted-winged fruit bat roosts primarily in the lower canopy. It is found from the lowlands to montane forest, and prefers to roost in palm trees and ferns that grow on the trunks of large forest trees, as well as in the active nests of tree-dwelling ants, and the unoccupied tree-nests of termites. The small size and excellent manouvreability of this species enables it to forage in the cluttered forest understory, where larger fruit bats have difficulties flying.
Food and Feeding Behavior
As the common name suggests, this mammal is frugivorous, primarily feeding on fruit, pollen, and nectar, and they are particularly fond of small figs. Both male and females forage within approximately on kilometer of their roost. They consumes fruit by utilizing the juices and spitting out the fibers. It has been reported that this animal also feeds on insects. The bats locate food by smell as well as by sight. This species does not exhibit an advanced echolocation system.
Reference:
- Encylopedia of Life. 2011. Balionycteris maculata (Thomas, 1893) EOL accessed October 6, 2011
- 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.
- Balionycteris maculata Malaysian Bat Education Adventure (includes a video)