Lesser short-nosed fruit bat (Cynopterus brachyotis)

Description

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Lesser short-nosed fruit bat fact file

• Description
• Biology
• Range
• Habitat
• Status
• Threats
• Conservation
• Find out more
• Glossary
• References
• Print factsheet

Lesser short-nosed fruit bat description

With an appearance typical of a fruit bat, the lesser short-nosed fruit bat is a beautiful example. Its dog-like face with large, appealing eyes and white edging on the ears give this bat a magical quality. When roosting, the bat wraps its black wings tightly around its body like a cloak, leaving only the head visible. The white finger bones stand out against the black wing membranes, adding to the striking effect. The fur is short and greyish brown to yellowish brown on the back and paler on the underside. Adult males have a dark orange-red collar and females a more yellow-orange collar. Juveniles lack this collar and tend to be uniformly grey ⁽²⁾.

Also known as

common fruit bat, Lesser dog-faced fruit bat.

Synonyms

Cynopterus archipelagus, Cynopterus babi, Cynopterus minor, Cynopterus nusatenggara.

Size

Head-and-body length: 72 - 90 mm ⁽²⁾

Tail length: 10 - 16 mm ⁽²⁾

Forearm length: 55 - 66 mm ⁽²⁾

Weight

28 - 40 grams ⁽²⁾

Lesser short-nosed fruit bat biology

Under favourable conditions, female lesser short-nosed fruit bats give birth to one pup twice each year, once between mid January and mid April, and again between mid June and early October. Pregnancy lasts between five and six months and the birth of the pups does not necessarily occur in time with flowering or fruiting ⁽⁶⁾. Females carry their pup in flight for the first few months of life, until it has learnt to fly with confidence ⁽²⁾. The young become sexually mature at seven months, and females will give birth to their first pup at just over 12 months old ⁽⁶⁾.

Lesser short-nosed fruit bats become active shortly after sunset and fly directly to fruiting trees up to 2 km away ⁽⁷⁾ to feed on small fruits, including mangoes ⁽⁶⁾ and figs, as well as on nectar ⁽⁸⁾. They fly around the trees several times before settling on the fruit ⁽⁷⁾, where they use claws on the first and second digits of the hands, as well as their strong feet, to cling on to bunches of fruit whilst feeding. As fruit bats do not echolocate, they must find their food using their large eyes and strong sense of smell. During the day, they return to their roosts under shaded trees, tree-ferns and near the entrances of caves ⁽⁸⁾. This species is a particularly important seed-disperser; it is a seasonal specialist, and over an annual fruiting cycle can consume the fruits of 54 species, the leaves of 14 species and the flower parts of four species ⁽⁹⁾.

Lesser short-nosed fruit bat range

This species of fruit bat is found across Southern and Southeast Asia, from Sri Lanka to Indonesia and the Philippines. It has many subspecies that vary in size and colouration: Cynopterus brachyotis altitudinis (Cameron Highlands of Peninsular Malaysia) ⁽³⁾; Cynopterus brachyotis brachyotis (Borneo, Lombok, Peninsular Malaysia, the Philippines, Sulawesi) ⁽⁴⁾; Cynopterus brachyotis brachysoma (Andaman Islands) ⁽⁴⁾; Cynopterus brachyotis ceylonensis (Sri Lanka) ⁽⁴⁾; Cynopterus brachyotis concolor (Enganno Island) ⁽³⁾; Cynopterus brachyotis hoffeti (Vietnam) ⁽³⁾; Cynopterus brachyotis insularum (Kangean Island) ⁽³⁾; Cynopterus brachyotis javanicus (Java) ⁽³⁾; Cynopterus brachyotis minutus (Nias Islands) ⁽⁴⁾.

Lesser short-nosed fruit bat habitat

The lesser short-nosed fruit bat occurs in many different habitats, from pristine primary rainforests, to oil palm plantations, gardens and mangroves ⁽⁵⁾.

Lesser short-nosed fruit bat status

Classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List ⁽¹⁾.

Lesser short-nosed fruit bat threats

The current decline in many populations of the lesser short-nosed fruit bat is due to deforestation of primary and secondary forests for timber and palm oil plantations. Loss of habitat is a threat to the vast majority of Southeast Asian bat species, as even protected areas of forest are felled to create land for crops, plantations, and villages. Fruit bats are also commonly persecuted by fruit farmers for the damage they do to their yield, although the importance of fruit bats in pollinating crops is often underestimated ^{(1) (2)}.

Lesser short-nosed fruit bat conservation

Deforestation of primary forest for oil palm plantations, including within protected areas, is an issue of major concern and one that relies on both governmental action and consumer concern. Some large retailers have agreed, in collaboration with the WWF, to source products containing palm oil from plantations that are not on deforested land ⁽⁸⁾. Many scientific and charitable groups contribute to bat monitoring and local education programmes that can help to reduce persecution and raise awareness of the natural assets of the land ⁽⁷⁾.

View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Authentication

Glossary

Echolocation

Detecting objects by reflected sound. Used for orientation and detecting and locating prey by bats and cetacea (whales and dolphins).

Primary forest

Forest that has remained undisturbed for a long time and has reached a mature condition.

Secondary forest

Regenerating forest that has not yet reached the mature state of primary forest.

Subspecies

A population usually restricted to a geographical area that differs from other populations of the same species, but not to the extent of being classified as a separate species.

References

1. IUCN Red List (June, 2009)
   http://www.iucnredlist.org/
2. Kingston, T. (2005) Pers. comm.
3. Corbet, G.B. and Hill, J.E. (1992) The Mammals of the Indomalayan Region: a systematic review. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
4. Nor, S. (1996) The Mammalian Fauna on the islands at the Northern Tip of Sabah, Borneo. Fieldiana – Zoology, 83: 17 - 28.
5. Mickleburg, S.P., Hutson, A.M. and Racey, P.A. (1992) Old world fruit bats: an action plan for their conservation. IUCN/FFPS/ZSL/WWF/JWPT/NWF, Sultanate of Oman.
6. Kofron, C.P. (1997) Reproduction of two species of congeneric fruit bats (Cynopterus) in Brunei, Borneo. Journal of Zoology, 243(3): 485 - 506.
7. Tan, K.H., Zubaid, A. and Kunz, T.H. (1999) Fruit dispersal by the lesser dog-faced fruit bat, Cynopterus brachyotis. Malayan Nature Journal, 53(4): 57 - 62.
8. Ecology Asia (January, 2005)
   http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/mammals/lesser_dog-faced_fruit-bat.htm
9. Tan, K.H., Zubaid, A. and Kunz, T.H. (1998) Food habits of Cynopterus brachyotis in Peninsular Malaysia. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 14: 299 - 307.