The giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus), also known as the golden-capped fruit bat, is a rare megabat^[2] and one of the largest bats in the world.^[3] The species is endangered and is currently facing the possibility of extinction because ofpoaching and forest destruction. It is endemic to forests in the Philippines.^[1]

The giant golden-crowned flying fox gets its species name from the golden fur around the head, in sharp contrast to the black body. Like all other fruit bats, they have no tail. They are among the largest bats, with a wingspan of 1.5–1.7 m (4 ft 10 in–5 ft 7 in) and weighing 0.7–1.2 kg (1.5–2.6 lb).^[3] The only other bats with comparable measurements are a few species ofPteropus.^[3][edit]Description

[edit]Range

Recent surveys have found A. jubatus roosting with P. vampyrus on the islands of Bohol, Boracay, Cebu, Leyte, Luzon,Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros and Polillo.^[1]

[edit]Habitat

The giant golden-crowned flying fox is confined to the forests of the Philippines, where it occurs mostly at elevations from sea level to 1,100 m (3,600 ft).^[1] It prefers uninhabited areas. A 2005 study found none in inhabited areas.^[4] The same study also revealed that these bats use river corridors more than originally thought, because the fig trees located near rivers are the bats' main source of food. They do like to be close to agricultural fields but only in undisturbed forest areas.^[4]

In another study it was shown that this species is a forest obligate species, staying in the forest a majority of the time.^[5] Since this is a forest obligate species, conservation will require the preservation of forest areas. Human encroachment on the bat's habitat in forest and lowland areas is a major factor in the species endangered conservation status.^[5]

[edit]Behavior

The giant golden-crowned flying fox is primarily nocturnal, and can travel at least 40 km (25 mi) in one night searching for food. This bat is a pollinator and seed disperser for many fruit trees in the Philippines. It uses water for grooming.^[4]

[edit]Diet

They eat primarily figs, though will take other fruit if figs are unavailable. They have been reported to eat cultivated fruit, but this is relatively rare. Other fruits that may be eaten include: puhutan, lamio, tangisang, bayawak, bankal and strangler figs.^[6] Known as "The Silent Planter",^{[citation needed]} they release seeds in their droppings, often while flying. This helps maintain the Philippine rainforest.

[edit]Reproduction

Little is known about their reproduction. They appear to have two breeding seasons, but females only become pregnant during one of them. They typically give birth to only one pup. Females reach sexual maturity at two years.

[edit]Colonies

When fruit bats were abundant in the Philippines, the giant golden-crowned flying fox and the large flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus) would make colonies,^[7] reportedly numbering over 150,000 individuals. It is this roosting behavior that made them so easy to hunt, but also helps them keep warm and avoid natural predators.^[8]

Megabat Caught In The Philippines

It's called a Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox,

one of the largest species of bats in the world

Megabats Temporal range: Oligocene–Recent PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Large flying fox, Pteropus vampyrus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Suborder:	Megachiroptera or Yinpterochiroptera Dobson, 1875
Family:	Pteropodidae Gray, 1821
Subfamilies
Nyctimeninae Cynopterinae Harpiyonycterinae Macroglossinae Pteropodinae Rousettinae Epomophorinae

Megabats constitute the suborder Megachiroptera, family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera (bats). They are also called fruit bats, old world fruit bats, or flying foxes.

Contents   [hide]  1 Description 2 Behaviour and ecology 3 Classification 3.1 List of species 4 As disease reservoirs 5 Footnotes 6 References 7 External links

[edit]Description

Spectacled flying-fox (Pteropus conspicillatus)

The megabat, contrary to its name, is not always large: the smallestspecies is 6 centimetres (2.4 in) long and thus smaller than somemicrobats.^[1] The largest reach 40 centimetres (16 in) in length and attain awingspan of 150 centimetres (4.9 ft), weighing in at nearly 1 kilogram (2.2 lb). Most fruit bats have large eyes, allowing them to orient visually in the twilight of dusk and inside caves and forests.

Their sense of smell is excellent. In contrast to the microbats, the fruit bats do not use echolocation (with one exception, the Egyptian fruit batRousettus egyptiacus, which uses high-pitched clicks to navigate in caves).

[edit]Behaviour and ecology

Megabats are frugivorous or nectarivorous, i.e., they eat fruits or lick nectarfrom flowers. Often the fruits are crushed and only the juices consumed. The teeth are adapted to bite through hard fruit skins. Large fruit bats must land in order to eat fruit, while the smaller species are able to hover with flapping wings in front of a flower or fruit.^{[citation needed]}

Frugivorous bats aid the distribution of plants (and therefore, forests) by carrying the fruits with them and spitting the seeds or eliminating them elsewhere. Nectarivores actually pollinate visited plants. They bear long tongues that are inserted deep into the flower;pollen thereby passed to the bat is then transported to the next blossom visited, pollinating it. This relationship between plants and bats is a form of mutualism known as chiropterophily. Examples of plants that benefit from this arrangement include the baobabs of the genus Adansonia and the sausage tree (Kigelia).

Classification

Head of a masked flying fox or fruit bat (Pteropus personatus)

However, there have been other views, and a vigorous debate persists to this date. For example, in the 1980s and 1990s, some researchers proposed (based primarily on the similarity of the visual pathways) that the Megachiroptera were in fact more closely affiliated with the primates than the Microchiroptera, with the two groups of bats having therefore evolved flight viaconvergence (see Flying primates theory).^[2] However, a recent flurry of genetic studies confirms the more longstanding notion that all bats are indeed members of the same clade, the Chiroptera.^[3][4] Other studies have recently suggested that certain families of microbats (possibly the horseshoe bats, mouse-tailed bats and the false vampires)

 are evolutionarily closer to the fruit bats than to other microbats.^[3][5][editBats are usually thought to belong to one of two monophyletic groups, a view that is reflected in their classification into two suborders (Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera). According to this hypothesis, all living megabats and microbats are descendants of a common ancestor species that was already capable of flight.

The Rodrigues Flying Fox or Rodrigues Fruit Bat (Pteropus rodricensis) is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae, the flying foxes or fruit bats. It is endemic to Rodrigues, an island in the Indian Ocean belonging to Mauritius. Its natural habitatis tropical moist lowland forests. It is a sociable species which lives in large groups. It can reach 350 grams in weight and has a wingspan of 90 centimetres.

It is threatened by habitat loss through storm damage and human intervention and also by local hunting for food. Formerly the daytime roosts or 'camps' of this flying fox contained more than 500 individuals. The species currently numbers just a few hundred in the wild and is classified as critically endangered by the IUCN. The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has undertaken a successful captive breeding program and there are now colonies in several zoos. Likewise, the Organization for Bat Conservation is funding an international conservation project.

At night the bats forage in dry woodland for fruit of various trees such as tamarinds, rose-apples, mangoes, palms and figs. Like many other fruit bats they squeeze out the juices and soft pulp, rarely swallowing the harder parts. Observations in captivity show that each dominant male gathers a harem of up to ten females, with which he roosts and mates. Subordinate and immature males tend to roost in another part of the camp.

The Palawan Fruit Bat (Acerodon leucotis), also known as the Palawan Flying Fox, is a species of megabat found in forests ofPalawan, Balabac and Busuanga in the Philippines.^[2] It is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN and is declining due to hunting andhabitat loss.^[1]

Physical description

The Palawan Fruit Bats have a head-and-body length of 22–25 cm (8.7–9.8 in), with a forearm length of 13–16.5 cm (5.1–6.5 in).^[3] They can weigh up to 1,050 g (37 oz),^{[citation needed]} and lack a tail. The fur and wings are brown; the latter sometimes mottled with paler splotches.^[3]

[edit]Behavior and ecology

Like almost all megabats, the Palawan Fruit Bat is nocturnal.^[4] Unlike many of its relatives, this species does not form large, conspicuous roosts.^[3] It likely feeds on fruits such as figs.^[3] It can reach an age of at least 5 years.^[1]