Antillean Fruit-eating Bat

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Antillean Fruit-eating Bat
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Phyllostomidae
Genus: Brachyphylla
Species: B. cavernarum
Binomial name
Brachyphylla cavernarum
Gray, 1834

The Antillean Fruit-eating Bat (Brachyphylla cavernarum) is one of two leaf-nosed bat species belonging to the Brachyphylla genus. The species occurs in the Caribbean from Puerto Rico to St. Vincent and Barbados.

Contents

[edit] Taxonomy

Three subspecies of Brachyphylla cavernarum are recognized. Brachyphylla cavernarum cavernarum is the largest of the subspecies and occurs from St. Croix to St. Vincent. Brachyphylla cavernarum intermedia is of intermidiate size and occurs in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with the exception of St. Croix. Brachyphylla cavernarum minor occurs in Barbados and is characterized by its small size.[2]

[edit] Physical description

The Antillean Fruit-eating Bat has white to yellow-white hair at the base with darker coloration in the dorsum. Mature individuals measure from 65 to 118  millimiters (2.55 to 4.64 inches) with a forearm length ranges of 51 to 69 millimiters (2.00 to 2.71 inches) in length. The average weight is 45 grams (1.58 ounces).[3]

[edit] Ecology

The Antillean Fruit-eating Bat occurs in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Lesser Antilles up to St. Vincent and Barbados. Individuals roost in a variety of settings which include unused buildings, caves, dense tree tops, crevices, large wells, and cliffs. Sites without direct sunlight are preferred by the species although large colonies have been found in sunlit areas. The species occurs in dry arborescent vegetation on St. John.[2]

The Antillean Fruit-eating Bat has a varied diet which includes fruits, pollen, nectar, and insects. Fruits consumed in the wild include papaya, mango, Indian almond, manjack (Cordia spp.), royal palm, and sapodilla. In captivity the species has been observed consuming bananas, apples, pears, melons, peaches, and the flowers of the Kapok, sausage tree, royal palm, portia tree, and Jatobá. Confirmed insects consumed include one mite species (Macronyssidae), two batfly species (Streblidae), one tick species (Argasidae), and two bat-mite species (Labidocarpidae). These bats feed in the canopy of the forest and in the ground.[2]

[edit] Behavior

The Antillean Fruit-eating Bat move out from the roost synchronically one hour after sunset and 20 minutes after the Jamaican fruit bat (Artibeus jamaicensis). This synchronization is also evident when returning to the roosts which happens just before the break of dawn.[2]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Chiroptera Specialist Group (1996). Brachyphylla cavernarum. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 28 November 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
  2. ^ a b c d Pierre Swanepoel and Hugh. H Genoways (15 December 1983). "Brachyphylla cavernarum". Mammalian Species 205. Retrieved on 2006-11-27. 
  3. ^ Mietzel, M. (2002). Brachyphylla cavernarum. Animal Diversity Web. Univeristy of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.
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