Melonycteris melanops, Dobson, 1877

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 16-162 : 129-130

124.

Black-bellied Blossom Bat

Melonycteris melanops

French: Mélonyctére a ventre noir / German: Schwarzbauch-Blitenflughund / Spanish: Melonicterio de vientre cenizo

Other common names: Bismarck Blossom Bat, Black-bellied Bat, Black-bellied Fruit Bat

Taxonomy. Melonycteris melanops Dobson, 1877 ,

“Duke-of-York Island and the adjacent coasts of New Ireland and New Britain.” Restricted by K. Andersen in 1912 to “New Ireland.”

Melonycteris does not include Nesonycteris based on high degree of morphological distinctions, including distinct dentition and relatively high degree of genetic differentation. The two genera have traditionally been included in Macroglossinae , but genetic data place them as basal members of Pteropodinae. They are generally considered closely related to Notopteris , but latest phylogenetic studies indicate that Melonycteris and Nesonycteris are sister to Pteropus and allies. Monotypic.

Distribution. Bismarck Archipelago (New Ireland, Duke of York, Mioko, New Britain, Tolokiwa, Umboi, and Dyaul Is); probably also on Sakar and Lavongai Is.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 78- 1-110 mm (tailless), ear 13- 7-19 mm, hindfoot 13— 24 mm, forearm 50-68- 3 mm; weight 31- 5-63 g. Males average larger than females in weight and lengths of ear, forearm, and hindfoot. The Black-bellied Blossom Bat has distinctive orange back; black belly; bright pinkish/orangish blotching on skin of feet, head, and wing membranes; and long papillae-tipped tongue to collect nectar. Head is long, with elongated rostrum and tubular divergent nostrils. Ears are relatively short, elongated, and pointed attips; eyes are large, with dark brown irises. Pelage has unique reverse countershading, because ventral pelage is darker than dorsal pelage. Dorsum and crown of head are bright reddish orange; venter, face, and throat are black. Shoulders have distinctive white spot that occasionally extends onto ears and back of head. Claws are black proximally, with white tips. Uropatagium and calcar are highly reduced; uropatagium is only small strip along inner leg. Skull has elongated rostrum, with long infraorbital canal (as in Notopteris ); males have larger sagittal crest than females. Dental formula is12/2, C1/1,P 3/3. M 2/5 (x2) = 34. Incisors are minute; P? is aboutfive timessize of P'; and molars and premolars are largely reduced and elongated compared with other pteropodids.

Habitat. Primarily disturbed and secondary forests, gardens, banana and cocoa plantations, and rarely primary forests from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 1600 m. Blackbellied Blossom Bats seem to thrive in human-associated environments with very abundant food. They have been found at higher densities in cultivated banana plantations than in wild banana stands in primary forests. Day roosts are primarily in foliage (particularly dry banana leaves), but they have been found in rocky outcrops.

Food and Feeding. Black-bellied Blossom Bats are nectarivorous, feeding on nectar and pollen of various flowering plants, especially Musa (Musaceae) and cocoa (Theo broma cacao, Malvaceae ) in plantations. They eat soft fruits in captivity. They usually land on or near a flower and use their long papillae-tipped tongue to extract nectar while also getting pollen on their fur to groom off later.

Breeding. Black-bellied Blossom Bats probably produce two litters/year, with one young/litter. Lactating and pregnant females are found in two major peaks, suggesting that births occur in June-July and December—January.

Activity patterns. Black-bellied Blossom Bats are nocturnal, foraging throughout the night and roosting during the day. At night, they spend less than 36% of their time flying while foraging; rest of the night is spent feeding at flowers. Mean flight times were 20-8-30-7 seconds between food sources, and individuals made 69-99 flights in the span of two hours. Black-bellied Blossom Bats have very low metabolic rates for a mammal of its size. They do not seem to enter torpor often, but their body temperature tends to decrease slightly as ambient temperatures decrease.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Black-bellied Blossom Bat is highly territorial and generally found roosting alone rather than in any form of group other than female-young pairs. Roosting sites are generally less than 100 m away from foraging sites, although young roosted as much as 400 m away from their important foraging area. Home ranges are 0-5-9-2 ha, and core feeding areas have 1-9 trees with active florescence. Adults of the same sex never invade each other home ranges, but individuals of the opposite sex can have considerable overlap in home ranges and foraging times. Because they maintain relatively large home ranges, young often have not established a home range and either wait to find a vacant area or fight and claim another individual’s home range.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Blackbellied Blossom Bat is considered relatively common throughout its distribution. It faces no major threats, especially because it is so tolerant and even thrives in humanaltered habitats. Native people on New Ireland call them “Amanda Arahwak,” which means “poison bat,” coming from lore that if their call is heard, a poisoner (or sorcerer) is nearby.

Bibliography. Andersen (1912b), Bonaccorso (1998), Bonaccorso, Helgen, Allison & Hamilton (2008), Bonaccorso, Winkelmann & Byrnes (2005), Flannery (1993, 1995a), Giannini & Simmons (2007a), McNab & Bonaccorso (2001), Pulvers & Colgan (2007).

Figures

114. Fijian Long-tailed Fruit Bat (Notopteris macdonald), 115. New Caledonia Long-tailed Fruit Bat (Notopteris neocaledonicus), 116. White-winged Flying Fox (Desmalopex leucopterus), 117. Mindoro Pallid Flying Fox (Desmalopex microleucopterus), 118. Fijizan Monkey-faced Fruit Bat Marimar (: acrodonta), 119. Bougainville Monkey-faced Fruit Bat (Pteralopex anceps), 120. Guadalcanal Monkey-faced Fruit Bat (Pleralopex atrata), 121. Montane Monkey-faced Fruit Bat (Pleralopex pulchra), 122. New Georgia Monkey-faced Fruit Bat (Pleralopex taki), 123. Greater Monkey-faced Fruit Bat (Pleralopex flanneryi), 124. Black-bellied Blossom Bat (Melonycteris melanops), 125. Fardoulis’s Blossom Bat (Nesonycteris fardoulis), 126. Woodford’s Blossom Bat (Nesonycteris woodfordi)

Distribution. Bismarck Archipelago (New Ireland, Duke of York, Mioko, New Britain, Tolokiwa, Umboi, and Dyaul Is); probably also on Sakar and Lavongai Is.