Egyptian fruit bat
| Egyptian Fruit Bat | |
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| Egyptian Rousette or Egyptian Fruit Bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus | |
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| Species: | R. aegyptiacus
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| Binomial name | |
| Rousettus aegyptiacus | |
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| Egyptian Rousette range | |
The Egyptian Fruit Bat or Egyptian Rousette (Rousettus aegyptiacus) is a species of Old World fruit bat found throughout Africa, except in the desert regions of the Sahara, and throughout the Middle East, as far east as Pakistan and northern India. Due to their extensive geographic range, and relatively large wild population, Rousettus aegyptiacus does not hold any specific conservation status.
Description
Egyptian fruit bats are small compared to some of their megachiropterid cousins. They have a wingspan that averages 60 cm (2 ft), and a body length around 15 cm (6 in). Weight is typically around 160g (.35 lb). Males are larger than the females and can be easily distinguished by their large scrotal sack. They are typically a light brown in color, with darker brown wings. They have large pointed ears, dark eyes, and a long dog-like muzzle - which sometimes leads them to be referred to as flying foxes. Their fur is very soft, and their wings feel not unlike pantyhose.
Behaviour
Like many bats, Egyptian fruit bats are nocturnal. They spend their days roosting in trees or caves, often with large groups of other bats, sometimes numbering in the thousands. They emerge from the roost to forage for food in the late evening, and return just before dawn. They hang upside down, with their wings folded closely around their body.
Egyptian fruit bats, along with other species in the genus Rousettus, are the only megachiropterid bats to use echolocation, which they accomplish by emitting a series of sharp clicks with their tongue. The clicks are normally slow and constant and speed up dramatically when the bat approaches an object. They also make use of a range of vocalizations for communication, including grunts and screeches. As a result, a large roosting colony can be a deafening cacophony.
Diet
Egyptian fruit bats are frugivorous, consuming large amounts of fruit each night. Wild dates tend to be a favorite, but they will consume almost any soft, pulpy fruit. Most of their diet tends to consist of unripe and insect- and fungus-damaged fruit, which allows them to thrive in habitats where ripe fruit are not available year-round.
Reproduction
Maturity is reached at about 9 months of age. Females typically give birth to only a single baby each year, but twins are occasionally born, after a gestation period of around 115-120 days. The young are carried by the female until they are able to hang from the roost on their own (after about six weeks), then they are left in the roost while the mother forages for food. Once the baby bat can fly, at about three months of age, it will leave the roost on its own to hunt for its own food. Offspring typically stay with the same colony as the parents for their entire lives.
In captivity
The Egyptian fruit bat is well represented in zoos around the world. They breed readily in captivity and easily adapt to a captive diet of more commonly available fruits and nectar.
Concerns
These bats, as well as many other fruit eating bats are ecologically important because they are pollinators or seed dispersers for many species of tree and plant. The baobab tree for instance, relies almost exclusively on fruit bats to pollinate its flowers. Unfortunately, fruit bats also eat fruit crops intended for human consumption, and they are consequently poisoned or otherwise eliminated by farmers to prevent loss of crops.
The Marburg virus is carried by Egyptian Fruit bats in Africa. The Marburg virus is related to Ebola, and thus the virus may be carried by an otherwise healthy fruit bat, which may not be readily showing symptoms that negatively affect the bat.
References
- Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern
- The Organization for Bat Conservation: Egyptian Fruit Bats
- The Centre for the Conservation of Species
- Oregon Zoo Animals: Egyptian Fruit Bat
