Penthetor lucasii (Dobson, 1880)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 16-162 : 78

31.

Lucas’s Short-nosed Fruit Bat

Penthetor lucasii

French: Cynoptére de Lucas / German: Lucas-Kurznasenflughund / Spanish: Penthetor de Lucas

Other common names: Dusky Fruit Bat

Taxonomy. Cynopterus (Ptenochirus) lucasii Dobson, 1880 ,

“ Sarawak, Borneo,” Malaysia .

Specimens of P. lucasii from Peninsular Malaysia are referred here to subspecies suyantoi with caution. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

PL lucasii Dobson, 1880 — Borneo.

P. l. suyantoi Maryanto, 2004 — Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, including Riau Archipelago.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 78-103 mm, tail 8-13 mm, ear 13-17 mm, hindfoot 10- 13 mm, forearm 54-66 mm (males) and 57-63 mm (females); weight 34-48 g (males) and 42-55 g (females). Head is stout; muzzle is broad at base, tapering, and moderately deep; nostrils are shortly tubular; philtrum is divided into two parallel grooves. Eyes are large and bulging; iris is warm brown. Fars are moderately long and rounded, pale brown skin is thin, and antitragus is very small. Head is very wide; pelage is sparse on muzzle and cheek; pelage is very short, dense, and darker on cap, with some individuals presenting a distinctly darker, wide central line on the cap; and very long guard hairs occur in occiput. Neck and back are sparsely haired, especially in scapular area; dorsum is brown to grayish brown. Uropatagium is naked, tail is moderately long and very thin, calcar is short, and tibia is long. Throatis thinly furred but has isolated, very long hairs, and sides of neck lack tufts or distinctly colored ruff. Chest and belly are light grayish brown, and flanks are distinctly warmer and browner. Wing membranes are dark brown from sides of body and attach on first toe, pollex and index finger are distinctly short, and index claw is present. Skull lacks basicranial deflection, rostrum is short and moderately deep, orbit is large, zygomatic rootis slightly above upper alveolar line, and zygomais rather thin and little arched posteriorly. Dorsally, rostrum is wide at base and slightly tapering; paranasal recesses are inflated, passing root of small, triangular postorbital processes; there is no postorbital foramen or postorbital constriction; barely obvious temporal lines do notjoin in a sagittal crest; braincase is oval and long; and nuchal crest is moderately developed. Ventrally, palate is moderately long (wider in nominate lucasit) and flat; tooth rows are almost straight; post-dental is short and converging; end of post-dental palate is concave; there is no palatine spine; sphenoidalcrest is thin and sharp; and ectotympanic is small and wide anteriorly, and edged internally by ribbon-like entotympanic. Mandible is thin (less so in subspecies suyantoi); coronoid slopes butis rather tall, with rounded tip; condyle is level with lower alveolar line; and angle is distinctly marked. Dental formula is12/1,C1/1,P3/3 M 1/2 (x2) = 28. Upper incisors are very thin; I! is longer; Cl is short with marked anterointernal groove; P' is a spicule; posterior cheekteeth decrease in height, without additional cusps, and have rectangular outlines; and P23 is broad. Lower incisors are thin (possibly representing L,); C, is relatively wide at base and short; P, is peg-like; posterior cheekteeth decrease in height and are rather wide and somewhat squarish in occlusal outline; and M, is peg-like. Diploid numberis 2n = 48.

Habitat. [Lowland to hill rainforest from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 600 m.

Food and Feeding. L.ucas’s Short-nosed Fruit Bat is primarily frugivorous.

Breeding. In Brunei, Lucas’s Short-nosed Fruit Bat is seasonally monoestrous, with synchronized births centered in October and estrus and mating within 2-3 weeks postpartum, followed by prolonged delayed embryonic development; rapid development resumes in the next year’s July-September, and births occur again around October. This birth peak does not correlate with rainfall or fruiting/flowering peaks and might be related to specific resources. Neonates weigh c. 15 g at birth and are able to fly in 2-3 weeks old when they weigh more than 20 g. Lactation lasts 2-4 months. Females achieve sexual maturity at weights of 33-34 g and males at c.12 months old when they weigh 27-30 g. Other patterns might exist elsewhere based on near-term pregnant females recorded in January and lactating female in May in Peninsular Malaysia.

Activity patterns. Lucas’s Short-nosed Fruit Bat roosts in caves and rock shelters.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Colonies of Lucas’s Short-nosed Fruit Bats can have more than 100 individuals that cluster together in crevices and cave ceilings in the twilight zones. Nursing females roost together in clusters in caves. Lucas’s Short-nosed Fruit Bat likely commutes between a fixed cave roost and shifting feeding areas.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Lucas’s Short-nosed Fruit Bats can be locally very common, generally in the proximity of occupied caves, but are generally rare. Limestone extraction and to a lesser extent deforestation are likely conservation threats.

Bibliography. Andersen (1912b), Bates, Bumrungsri, Suyanto, Francis, Kingston & Maryanto (2008), Giannini & Simmons (2007a), Kingston et al. (2006), Kofron (2007b), Maryanto (2004), Mohd-Ridwan & Abdullah (2012), Payne et al. (1985), Rahman & Abdullah (2010), Rosli et al. (2018), Yong & Dhaliwal (1976).

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)

Subspecies and Distribution. PL lucasii Dobson, 1880 — Borneo. P. l. suyantoi Maryanto, 2004 — Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, including Riau Archipelago.