Pteropodidae
Author
Don E. Wilson
Author
Russell A. Mittermeier
text
2019
2019-10-31
Lynx Edicions
Barcelona
Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats
16
162
book chapter
88683
10.5281/zenodo.6448815
bbbf94d9-a910-4cda-97df-7eca124163ed
978-84-16728-19-0
6448815
14.
Mindanao Fruit Bat
Ptenochirus wetmorei
French:
Cynoptéere de Wetmore
/
German:
Mindanao-Moschusflughund
/
Spanish:
Ptenoguiro de Wetmore
Other common names:
\
White-collared Fruit Bat
Taxonomy.
Megaerops wetmorei E. H. Taylor, 1934
,
Cotabato
near Tatayan, Mindanao Island,
Philippines
.
Subspecies
Megaerops wetmorei albicollis
is here retained in
Megaerops
as full species (
Megaerops albicollis
) of Sundaic distribution. Monotypic.
Distribution.
Endemic to Mindanao, S
Philippines
.
Descriptive notes.
Head-body
71-76 mm
, tail
3-5 mm
, ear
13-15 mm
, hindfoot
12—13 mm
, forearm
47-52 mm
; weight
16-21 g
. The Mindanao Fruit Bat is small, with gray head and rusty ruff. Head is large and wide. Muzzle is wide, with gray skin; nostrils are short tubular and divergent; philtrum reaches lowerlip, ending in two pads; and two large triangular pads are on lower lip. Eyes are medium-sized; iris is chestnut-brown. Ears are moderately short, round, and uniformly light brown, and antitragus lobe is obsolescent. Head pelage is moderately long and light gray;sides are tipped with light brown. Dorsal fur is relatively long, gray, and occasionally tipped with brown. Uropatagium is well developed, and calcar is short. Ventrally, wide, rusty, long-haired ruff is more developed on shoulders and continuous across nape. Pelage in chest and belly is long and grayish brown and sometimes extends to base of forearms. Wing membranes are dark gray, index claw is present, and wing from sides of body attach to first toe. Tip ofall claws is white; metacarpals and phalanges are pale on both sides. Skull lacks basicranial deflection. Laterally, relatively deep rostrum is continuous with forehead; orbit is large; zygomatic rootis slightly above upperalveolar line; zygoma is thin, arched posteriorly; and braincase is globose. Dorsally, rostrum is moderately wide; paranasal recesses are inflated, passing posteriorly to postorbital foramina; postorbital processes are thin and long, posterolaterally directed and with almost no postorbital constriction; temporal lines are widely separated, barely marked; braincase is round; and nuchal crest is indistinct. Ventrally, palate is flat; post-dental is long, converging posteriorly; palatine rim with spine continues on sphenoidal crest; and ectotympanic is wide, anteriorly edged internally with long ribbon-like entotympanic. Mandible is straight; coronoid gently slopes, with rather wide tip; condyle is slightly above lower alveolar line; and angle is round and poorly defined. Upper incisors are small; I' is longest; C' is large, almost straight, with only tip backwardly decurved; P' is minute; and posterior cheekteeth are well developed, decreasing in height and changing from squarish to very elongate posteriorly. Lower dentition has small L; I, is absent; C, is moderately small and decurved; P| is small; posterior cheekteeth are well developed, decreasing in height and gradually becoming elongate posteriorly; and M,is peg-like.
Habitat.
Lowland and montane primary and lightly disturbed rainforests at elevations of
800-1200 m
.
Food and Feeding.
The Mindanao Fruit Bat is primarily frugivorous and relies heavily on figs (
Ficus
,
Moraceae
).
Breeding.
Pregnant Mindanao Fruit Bats have been found in April. Littersize is one.
Activity patterns.
No information.
Movements, Home range and Social organization.
No information.
Status and Conservation.
Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List (under
Megaerops wetmorei
). The Mindanao Fruit Bat has not been assessed as a species restricted to Mindanao and is probably vulnerable because of its limited distribution and preference for primary or only lightly disturbed rainforests, which are generally declining. Present in some protected areas; e.g. Mount Kitanglad National Park (Mindanao).
Bibliography.
Francis (1989), Heaney, Balete et al. (1998), Heaney, Tabaranza et al. (2006), Taylor (1934).