Pygmy Fruit Bat

The Pygmy Fruit Bat (Aethalops alecto), also known as the Grey Fruit Bat, is a species of megabat.

Distribution

Three specimens were collected in April 1995 from Bario highlands in Sarawak. A. alecto is confined to montane forest above 1000 m from Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Java. In Borneo it had been recorded at Mount Kinabalu and Crocker Range in Sabah; Gunung Mulu and Bareo in Sarawak (Payne et al. 1985 ).

Biology and ecology

Two adult females and an adult male collected from Bario were in a non-reproductive condition. Kitchener et al. (1990) reported a pregnant female collected on Lombok Island in October. Hill (1961) observed pregnancy in February and May in Peninsular Malaysia. Medway (1978) recorded that the months between February to June was the breeding period for the species. This species appears to be confined to montane forest above 1,000 m (Payne et al. 1985).

External measurements

• 3 samples. FA = 43.70-48.00, TL = none, EL = 10.00-12.00, TB = 15.30-17.00, WT = 12.00-18.00.

References

1. ^ Hutson, A.M., Francis, C., Helgen, K. & Kingston, T. (2008). Aethalops alecto. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 8 February 2009.

• 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.
• Bat World Sanctuary
• Bat Conservation International
• ITIS