Sphaerias blanfordi (Thomas, 1891)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 16-162 : 72

18.

Blanford’s Fruit Bat

Sphaerias blanfordi

French: Cynopteére de Blanford / German: Blanford-Flughund / Spanish: Cynéptero de Blanford

Taxonomy. Cynopterus blanfordi Thomas, 1891 ,

“Leito, Cheba, on the Carin [= Karin] Hills, 1000 m,” Burma (= Myanmar).

Subspecies motuoensis from south-eastern Tibet is considered a synonym. Monotypic.

Distribution. N India (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Mizoram), E Nepal, Bhutan, N Myanmar, SW China (SE Tibet [= Xizang] and W & S Yunnan), N Thailand, NW Laos, and N & C Vietnam. Distribution appears fragmented into these areas, but this may be an artifact of insufficient sampling.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 75-90 mm (tailless), ear 17-22 mm, hindfoot 12- 16 mm, forearm 52-61 mm; mean weight 31 g. Rhinarium of Blanford’s Fruit Bat has moderately divergent nostrils, pointed muzzle, and few papillae on inner lip. Eyes are medium-sized; iris is dark orange-brown. Ears are oval, with median rim narrowly edged with white and small, triangular antitragal lobe. Head pelage is brownish gray. Dorsal pelage is long, soft, woolly, and brownish gray, extending onto forearm and wing membranes, and thickly over hindlegs. Uropatagium is a narrow rim between femur and middle tibia, calcar is absent, and tibia is short and furred. Throat pelage is brown and sexually dimorphic, with males possessing paired grayish yellow spots of hair on each side. Chest and belly are gray, and pelage is soft but shorter than on dorsum and longer and woolly extending into forearm, ventral side of wing membrane, and undersurface of hindlegs. Wing membranes are grayish and attach on first toe; index claw is present. Skull is delicate; rostrum is thin and tapering; premaxilla is proclivous; orbit is large; zygoma is thin and straight; braincase is globose and deflected ventrally; paranasal recesses are barely inflated and short, not reaching short postorbital processes; and postorbital foramen is absent. Mandible is thin, coronoid is sloping, condyle is below alveolar line level, and angle is rounded. Dental formula is12/2. C1/1,P 3/3, M 1/2 (x2) = 30. Upper incisors are procumbent and large, with crown triangularly pointed. C' is small and slightly proclivous, slanted laterally, with anterior groove and cuspless cingulum. P! is a spicule, and next premolars (P? and P*) and M' are triangular laterally and very narrow. Lower incisors are triangular but smaller than upper incisors, Phas well-defined crown, lower premolars are tall and triangular, and lower molars are low (M, peg-like).

Habitat. Mist and monsoon forests, wet evergreen broadleaf forests, mixed forests, and forest edges at elevations of 300-2700 m.

Food and Feeding. Gracile skull and dentition of Blanford’s Fruit Bat suggest it eats soft fruits.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Colonies of Blanford’s Fruit Bats have 2-5 individuals.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Blanford’s Fruit Bat is considered a vermin under Schedule V of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act. Although it is uncommon,it is less rare than previously thought and is one of the most common pteropodids in south-western China. It might be threatened by habitat loss mainly due to harvest of bamboo forest, and it is hunted and sold in village markets in Laos.

Bibliography. Bates & Harrison (1997), Bates, Bumrungsri, Csorba & Francis (2008), Cai Guiquan & Zhang Naizhi (1980), Douangboubpha et al. (2012), Feng Qing, Jiang Xuelong & Wang Yingxiang etal. (2008), Jones, Bielby et al. (2009), Lunde et al. (2003), Simmons (2005), Zhang Jinshuo et al. (2010).

Figures

15. Brooks's Dayak Fruit Bat (Dyacopterus brooksi), 16. Common Dayak Fruit Bat (Dyacopterus spadiceus), 17. Philippine Large-headed Fruit Bat (Dyacopterus rickarti), 18. Blanford’s Fruit Bat (Sphaerias blanfordi), 19. Bornean Spotted-winged Fruit Bat (Balionycteris maculata), 20. Malayan Spotted-winged Fruit Bat (Balionycteris seemundi), 21. Bornean Pygmy Fruit Bat (Aethalops aequalis), 22. Common Pygmy Fruit Bat (Aethalops alecto), 23. Common Swift Fruit Bat (Thoopterus nigrescens), 24. Suhaniah’s Swift Fruit Bat (Thoopterus suhaniahae), 25. Mindanao Pygmy Fruit Bat (Alionycteris paucidentata), 26. Fischer’s Pygmy Fruit Bat (Haplonycteris fischeri), 27. Luzon Pygmy Fruit Bat (Otopteropus cartilagonodus), 28. Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat (Latidens salimaliz), 29. Sundaic Black-capped Fruit Bat (Chironax melanocephalus), 30. Sulawesi Black-capped Fruit Bat (Chironax tumulus), 31. Lucas’s Short-nosed Fruit Bat (Penthetor lucasu)

Distribution. N India (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Mizoram), E Nepal , Bhutan , N Myanmar , SW China (SE Tibet [= Xizang] and W & S Yunnan), N Thailand , NW Laos , and N & C Vietnam . Distribution appears fragmented into these areas, but this may be an artifact of insufficient sampling.