Madagascar flying-fox, Madagascar fruit bat , Madagascar fruit bat
The Madagascan flying fox, Madagascar flying-fox, or Madagascar fruit bat (Pteropus rufus ) is a species of megabat in the genus Pteropus. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. It eats figs and other fruits, flowers, and leaves.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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FrugivoreA frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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BrowsingBrowsing is a type of herbivory in which an herbivore (or, more narrowly defined, a folivore) feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high-growi...
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ZoochoryZoochory animals are those that can disperse plant seeds in several ways. Seeds can be transported on the outside of vertebrate animals (mostly mam...
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Island endemicIsland endemic animals are found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island. Animals or organisms that are indigenous to a place ar...
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NomadicNomadic animals regularly move to and from the same areas within a well-defined range. Most animals travel in groups in search of better territorie...
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PollinatorA pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilizat...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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ColonialColonial animals live in large aggregations composed of two or more conspecific individuals in close association with or connected to, one another....
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe Madagascan flying fox is a species of megabat and is the largest bat in Madagascar. They are brown in color with golden to reddish-brown areas on their chest and shoulders. The head of these bats is yellowish in color, and the wings are slate-grey to black in color. Both sexes look alike, but males are slightly bigger in size than females.
Madagascan flying foxes are native to Madagascar and are found in all parts of the island except the central highland region. They live in subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Madagascan flying foxes are nocturnal creatures. During the day they roost in large trees in colonies of up to 1000 individuals although 400 is more common. These bats are noisy and easily disturbed, and if roused, the whole colony may move off to an alternative roost site. Most roosts are located in isolated trees in degraded areas. Madagascan flying foxes are territorial only during the breeding season when dominant males establish territories on the roost tree which they guard against other males. Females roost within these male territories. Outside the breeding season, territories are usually not maintained, however, bats try to roost in the same place. Dominant males also establish feeding territories on preferable feeding trees and can travel up to 50 km from the roost site to get food. In order to communicate with each Madagascan flying foxes use scent and sound to distinguish other roost members or produce squawks, male whinny/female whinny, chatters, and honks. Males also mark their territories with scents and use scent cues in females during the breeding season.
Madagascan flying foxes are mainly frugivorous animals. Their diet consists of fruit juice which is squeezed from the fruit in the mouth. They also feed on leaves, figs, flowers, and nectar.
It is suggested that Madagascan flying foxes are either polygynous (one male mates with multiple females) or polygynandrous (promiscuous) (both males and females have multiple partners). They breed Breeding from April to May. Females give birth to a single pup, sometimes twins after the gestation period that lasts around 100-150 days. Mothers nurse their young during 4-5 months and after reaching independence young bats usually stay in the groups they were born in. Madagascan flying foxes become reproductively mature when they are 1.5-2 years old.
The biggest threat to Madagascan flying foxes threat is hunting for bushmeat. Under Madagascar law, hunting this species is only permitted from May to August. They are targeted at their roosting sites and at the trees where they feed, and the harvesting in many areas is believed to be unsustainable. They are hunted both for food and also commercially. These bats also suffer from loss of habitat as woodland is converted to agricultural land.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of Madagascan flying foxes is 300,000 individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.
Due to their foraging habits, Madagascan flying bats play a very important role as seed dispersers in the ecosystem they live. When they squeeze the juice out of fruits many seeds are swallowed and dispersed to other areas as they pass through the animal's gut. These bats also pollinate certain trees throughout their home range.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...