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Macroglossus minimus Cladus: Eukaryota Name Macroglossus minimus E. Geoffroy, 1810 Type locality: Indonesia, Java. References * E. Geoffroy. 1810. Annals du Museum National d'Histoire naturelle Paris, 15: 97.
* Thailand to Philippines
The Long-tongued Nectar Bat (Macroglossus minimus) is a species of megabat. M. minimus is one of the smallest species in the family Pteropodidae with an average length of 60 - 85 mm. They have a reddish brown colouring with relatively long hair compared to the other species. The hair on the abdomen is a lighter colour and there is a dark brown stripe running bilaterally down the top of the head and back. Distribution M. minimus represents about 14% (n = 133) of the total fruit bats recorded during the present study. The species was observed at 11 locations in Borneo: Batang Ai, Tanjung Datu, Gunung Gading, Padawan, Samunsam and Kampong Temirat in Sarawak; Poring, Gunung Silam and Tawau in Sabah; and Sungai Kakap in Kalimantan Barat. The species had a wide range including Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, south Philippines, Java, Borneo, New Guinea, Solomon and northern Australia (Payne et al. 1985). In Borneo it had been recorded from Kota Kinabalu, Sepilok, Sukau and Tawau in Sabah; Bandar Sri Begawan in Brunei; Bareo, Niah and Bako in Sarawak; Gunong Kenepi, Kutai and Sungai Tengah in Kalimantan. Biology and ecology Males constituted 53% and females 47% of the total captures. About 77% were adults and the remaining were subadults and fledging immatures. Pregnancy in females (n = 5) was observed in September 1996 at Pontianak and in July at Tawau Hills and Poring. Five other males netted at Tawau and Poring in July had enlarged testes indicating they were sexually active. An immature was captured in June 1996 at Padawan and from June to July subadults (n = 24) were netted near the forest edges of Tawau Hills and Poring including the mangrove swamp at Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary. Two females from Poring, Sabah were pregnant in July from the Pontianak area in Kalimantan Barat was pregnant in September. A tagged female released from a canopy net at Poring was later recaptured about 250 m at the forest edge. In Malaysia, Start (1974) estimated that gestation period for Macroglossus minimus was approximately 120 ± 10 days, lactation was between 60 to 70 days and polyoestrous female with breeding interval of 140 to 160 days. In Negros, the Philippines, females probably produced 2 to 2.5 young per year (Heideman 1987). In different locations in Philippines and Malaysia the species also reproduced aseasonally and synchronously in response to food abundance (Heideman 1987; Start 1974). Three females collected in September and October on Lombok Island were lactating and parturition was recent (Kitchener et al., 1990). At Ampenam on Lombok, births occurred throughout the year and at Suranadi Park pregnant and lactating females were collected in August through October (Gunnell et al.1996). A female collected by Lim et al. (1972) in June in Sarawak was pregnant. In New Guinea, births occurred all year round (Flannery 1990). Gunnell et al. (1996) reported that the forearm growth rate was 0.24 mm/day and weight gain 0.07 g per day and free-flying immature had forearm 35.2 mm and weight 8.6 g. Unlike the C. brachyotis, this species was not recorded in a flock, which suggest of small group or solitary social group. Mangrove and banana flowers are among the sources of the nectar and pollens fed on by the species in Malaysia (Payne et al. 1985). Ecologically, the long-tongued nectar bat plays a major role as pollinator of many trees including Bignoniaceae, Bombaceae, Leguminosae, Musaceae, Myrtaceae, Musaceae and Sonneratiaceae in Peninsular Malaysia (Start and Marshall 1976). M. minimus has been recorded in coastal mangrove, dipterocarp forest, and lower montane forest up to 1000 m (Payne et al. 1985). It feeds on nectar and pollen. M. minimus was caught in Nypa and mangrove swamps, coconut and banana plantations, forest edges with banana clumps and shifting cultivation areas. — External measurements 78 samples. FA = 41.11±1.62, TL = 3.29±1.57 (9), EL = 13.46±1.18, TB = 16.59±1.01, WT = 14.76±2.54, WS = 290-316 (2), D5 = 54.50-58.69 (3). Contrary to the museum observation by Payne et al. (1985), an adult male (MTA96272) from Pontianak had a tail-like projection measuring 5.18 mm. The observation is consistent with records of a tail structure measuring between 3.10 to 4.24 mm for subadults found in Sabah and Sarawak. Museum specimens fixed in formalin and preserved in alcohol are known to shrink after a period of time, and thus that small tail could be missed. Macroglossus sobrinus (Andersen) Hill long-tongued fruit bat. M. sobrinus can be isolated from M. minimus by using external morphological measurements. Comparatively, M. sobranus is than M. minimus in the forearm length (43.35 to 46.95 mm vs 40 to 43 mm) and head length (30.05 to 30.54 mm vs 26 to 28 mm) and heavier body weight (17 to 23 g vs 13 to19 g) (Medway 1978). However, the tail length (0-2 mm versus 0-5 mm) and hind foot (8 - 9 mm versus 15-18 mm) disagreed to that of Lekagul and McNeely (1977). See also Macroglossus sobrinus Hall LS, Gordon G. Grigg, Craig Moritz, Besar Ketol, Isa Sait, Wahab Marni and M.T. Abdullah. 2004. Biogeography of fruit bats in Southeast Asia. Sarawak Museum Journal LX(81):191-284. Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
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