Dark fruit-eating bat
Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Genus
SPECIES
Artibeus obscurus

The dark fruit-eating bat (Artibeus obscurus ), is a bat species from South America.

Appearance

Dark fruit-eating bats are relatively small, with an average body length of 8 cm (3.1 in), and weighing from 30 to 52 g (1.1 to 1.8 oz). Their fur is longer and darker than that of their closest relatives, being dark brown to sooty black over most of the body, with a white frosting. The underparts are paler, and there are also faint stripes of pale fur on the face. The nose-leaf is broad, with a distinct horseshoe separated from the upper lip. The snout is relatively narrow for a bat of its small size, and the ears are rounded, with a sharply pointed tragus.

Distribution

Geography

Dark-fruit eating bats are found throughout the Amazon Basin. They are known from all but the southernmost parts of Brazil, from the Guyanas, and from the Amazonian regions of countries from Venezuela to Bolivia. They inhabit rainforests from sea level to 1,400 m (4,600 ft), and, in the southern part of their range, savannah and patchy semi-deciduous forests. There are no recognised subspecies.

Dark fruit-eating bat habitat map
Dark fruit-eating bat habitat map
Dark fruit-eating bat
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Habits and Lifestyle

The bats are generally low-flying, travelling close to the ground through forested terrain. They spend the day roosting under leaves or flaking pieces of bark about 4 to 7 m (13 to 23 ft) above the ground. They feed on figs, and the fruit of trees such as shimbillo and uvilla. Mating takes place between September and November, and results in the birth of a single offspring.

Lifestyle

References

1. Dark fruit-eating bat Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_fruit-eating_bat
2. Dark fruit-eating bat on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/2137/21998064

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