The Cynopterus Sphinx or Greater Short-Nosed fruit bat is a medium-sized bat with a short tail.  The pup, or newborn, weighs about 13.5 grams and has a wingspan of 24 centimeters.  The adults’ wingspan is about 48 centimeters. Adult males are russet brown with fur on the shoulders and the nape of the neck.  The coloration of adult females is olive grey.  Their feet, ears, and lips are dark lilac-grey and they have a deep space between each nostril.

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These bats are found in the tropical forests of Southern Asia and areas where fruit crops are grown.  Males make tents by chewing stems, leaves, or the string of fruit clusters to create enclosed spaces.  They live in these tents for 1-4 years.  Males recruit the females to the tent.  They are widely distributed in areas of Southern Asia and there is no estimation of the population size. The conservation status is of least concern.

The Cynopterus Sphinx uses its sense of smell to detect fruits. They also eat 31 different species of plants and sometimes lap up the nectar of flowers.  This helps in pollination of the flowers.  They are big feeders, eating more than their body weight in one sitting.   

The most important predators to this bat are crows.  Rat snakes and cobras can also be predators.  In addition, humans are predators too because farmers hunt the bats that eat their fruits.  People also can hunt them for medicinal purposes. 

I learned many interesting things about this bat.  What I found fascinating was that these bats do not emit echolocation calls.  The most important thing that stood out to me while doing this report was that the Cynotpterus Sphinx could carry Japanese encephalitis, which is a serious disease in humans.

 

Author:  Zach D

Published:  05/2012

Sources:

Allen, Glover. Bats. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1939. Print.

"Bristol University | School of Biological Sciences." Bristol University | School of Biological Sciences. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2011. <http://www.bio.bris.ac.uk>.

Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Short-nosed_Fruit_Bat>.

Storz, Jay, and Thomas Kunz. "Cynopterus sphinx." Mammalian Species 613 (1999): 1-8. Cynopterus sphinx. Web. 24 Jan. 2011.

Storz, Jay, Hari Bhat, and Thomas Kunz. "Social structure of a polygynous tent-making bat, Cynopterus sphinx." Journal of Zoology 251 (2000): 151-165. Social structure of a polygynous tent-making bat, Cynopterus. . .. Web. 24 Jan. 2011.

 

Photo Credit:

www.bio.bris.ac.uk/research/bats/China%20bats/cynopterussphinx.htm