Balionycteris maculata
Common name: The Spotted-winged Fruit Bat
You can see just how small Balionycteris maculata is in this photo. Also notice the spots on the wings which gives the bat its name
Like all fruit bats in the Old World tropics Balionycteris maculata has very large eyes because it relys on vision to find its way around at night. Unlike the insectivorous bats, the Old World fruit bats don’t echolocate with ultrasonic frequencies, although a few species do click their tongues as a very simple form of echolocation when in their caves.
Nose: You can see that the nostrils are large and elongated, and are set wide apart. The bat probably uses its sense of smell to tell if fruits are ripe enough to eat.
Ears: The ears are simple, with no tragus or antitragus.
Fur: The fur on the head is a dark brown, and slightly darker than the upper parts, with the undersides a grayish brown.
Tail: There is no external tail.
Wings: The wings are broad and rounded and are a dark brown flecked with small whitish or pink spots, particularly on the finger joints. This is how Balionycteris maculata get’s its name because maculata comes from the latin word for spotted, “maculatus”.
Size: Balionycteris maculata is the smallest fruit bat in Malaysia, with an average forearm length of just 40 mm and an average weight of about 14 g.
A small harem group of B. maculata in an abandoned termite nest in a sheltered boulder cave
Ecology
B. maculata is a forest species and is found from lowland to hill and occasionally montane forests. Both male and females forage within approximately 1 km of their roost and feed mainly on small forest fruits, and they are particularly fond of small figs. The small size and excellent manouvreability of this species enables it to forage in the cluttered forest understorey where bigger fruit bats have difficulties flying.
It roosts in small groups in bell-shaped cavities that are hollowed out from vegetation matter in the crowns of palms, and in ferns on forest trees. It has also been found in live nests of ants in trees and in abandoned termite nests. It is thought that the males actually excavate these roost cavities– once he has made a nice safe hollow, he can attract females, so typically Balionycteris maculuta is found in harem groups of up to 14 bats, with one male and several females and their dependent young.
Where they are found
Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, Durian and Galang Islands (Riau Archipelago, Indonesia).
