Dayak Fruit Bat
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| Dyacopterus spadiceus (Thomas, 1890) |
The Dayak fruit bat or Dyak fruit bat (Dyacopterus spadiceus) is found in Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines, and the Malay Peninsula. Males of the species have large, swollen nipples that lactate. The Dayak fruit bat is the only known mammalian species where male lactation might be standard. Male nipples are still smaller than those of females and produce only about a tenth as much milk. The cause and purpose of this phenomenon is unknown, it may be a side effect of phytoestrogens in leaves in the bats' diet, or it may be an actual adaptation to feed their young.
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[edit] Distribution
D. spadiceus is considered very rare fruit bat species in Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo and none in Thailand. The species were netted in four sites at Poring, Kubah, Kota Samarahan and Pontianak all on Borneo. The specimens, MTA96268 and MTA96269 that were held at Universiti Tanjungpura, are the first record for this distinctive species in Kalimantan Barat, Indonesian Borneo. Specimens UMS0010, MTA96237, and MTA96238 from Sarawak and MTA96208 from Sabah are new additional records for the species in the sampling areas. These new sites have extended the range of D. spadiceus to the western and southern parts of Borneo.
Previous distribution records includes Selangor and Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra; Sepilok and Baturong Caves in Sabah; Baram and Niah areas in Sarawak (Medway 1978, Payne et al. 1985).
[edit] Biology and ecology
A male and five female adults were mist-netted. Two females collected from Kalimantan Barat in September 1996 were in early and late pregnancy. Both bats were caught in a mist net placed near fruiting Ficus tree in disturbed peat swamp forest. Females from Kota Samarahan and Kubah were lactating in September 1994 and August 1996 respectively. Two individuals were caught in the subcanopy (between 10 - 15 m ) by using a vertically-hoisted mist net placed in the Sungai Rayu at Kubah. The individual from Poring was caught in the emergent tree above the main canopy (> 30 m from the ground level). However, the two specimens from Kalimantan Barat were taken from the ground level nets in a peat swamp forest.
There is no previous information on the biology and ecology for D. spadiceus as indicated by Medway (1978), Payne et al. (1985) and Mickleburg et al., (1992).
[edit] References in Borneo
- Chiroptera Specialist Group (1996). Dyacopterus spadiceus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006.
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.
[edit] References
- Francis, Charles M., et al; "Lactation in Male Fruit Bats," Nature, 367:691, 1994.
