Casinycteris ophiodon (Pohle, 1943)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 16-162 : 82-83

36.

Pohle’s Fruit Bat

Casinycteris ophiodon

French: Casinyctére de Pohle / German: Pohle-Kurzschnauzenflughund / Spanish: Casinicterio de Pohle

Other common names: Snake-toothed Fruit Bat

Taxonomy. Scotonycteris ophiodon Pohle, 1943 ,

Bipindi, Kribi District, Cameroon.

Until recently, ophiodon was included in Scotonycteris , but it was moved to Casinycteris based on analyses of morphology and cytochrome-b sequences. Sequences differed by 14:4% between ophiodon and S. zenkeriand 7-7% and 8-4% between ophiodon and C. argynnis and C. campomaanenss, respectively. Monotypic.

Distribution. Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, and Republic of the Congo.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 115-122 mm (tailless), ear 20-25 mm, hindfoot 17- 19 mm, forearm 74-79 mm (males) and 73-81 mm (females); weight 60-77 g (males) and 64-95 g (females). Pohle’s Fruit Bat has conspicuous face markings consisting of white patch on forehead in between eyes, white posterior eyespots, broad white band aroundlips; greenish yellow skin on upperlip and snout; moderately expansible upperlip, internally fringed with prominent papillae; and remarkably wide and expansible cheeks of adult males. Muzzle is broad and relatively short. Head is dog-like; eyes are large; irises are greenish brown; and ears are dark brown, with yellowish rims (lighter at base), naked, oval, and slightly pointed at tips, without conspicuous basal white tufts. There are no epaulettes on adult males. Males and females are similar in color; dorsum is medium brown to rusty brown and speckled; hairs have dark brown, almost blackish bases, pale gray to whitish middles, and brown tips; pelage is dense, soft, woolly, and mid-dorsally 9-10 mm long and dorsally extends some distance along forearm. Venter is medium to dark brown at flanks, contrasting with paler whitish gray on chin, throat, neck, and mid-venter; pelage of underparts is much shorter and sparser than on dorsum. Wings are brown, with yellowish green reticulations in adults and more or less uniform brown in subadults, dorsally sparsely covered in hairs between forearm and fifth digit, below whitish woolly hairs are spread on membrane around forearm, and attach to first toes; finger joints are yellowish; and thumbs are relatively long; Penis and scrotum are bright greenish yellow in adult males. Skull is rounded, rostrum is of medium length and not upturned; profile of forehead is weakly concave; sagittal crest is low; premaxillae are well developed; zygomatic width is fairly narrow and arches relatively light; bony palate extends well beyond posterior teeth; there are usually six thick, undivided inter-palatal ridges and 10-13 thin, narrow, serrated postdental ridges; and mandible is rather heavy. Canines are long; C' is noticeably curved backward, with serrated inner edges (hence “ ophiodon ” or snake-toothed); premolars and molars are tall, pointed, and subcircular, with two distinct cusps on inner and outer side of each tooth, except for P, and M,. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 34 and FNa = 62, with eleven pairs of metacentric or submetacentric and five pairs of subtelocentric chromosomes. X-chromosome is medium-sized submetacentric or subtelocentric, and Y-chromosome is small acrocentric (note that most spreadsyielded diploid number of 33 but with varying unpaired elements).

Habitat. Western and West Central Rainforest biotic zones in lowland rainforests, montane forests, and coastal forests at elevations of ¢. 120 m (Oda, Ghana) to ¢. 1200 m (Mount Nimba).

Food and Feeding. Pohle’s Fruit Batis frugivorous. Diet primarily contains Ficus sp. (Moraceae) . In contrast to most other frugivorous bats, Pohle’s Fruit Bat hangs horizontally while feeding, using feet and thumbs, and food is kept on its chest where chunks are bitten off and slowly masticated until fibrous parts are spat out as pellets. It 1s captured in canopy nets, suggesting thatit searches for fruit in crowns of large trees. Captive bats ate a variety offruits : banana and plantain ( Musa , Musaceae ); guava ( Psidium , Myrtaceae ); pawpaw ( Asimina ) and soursop ( Annona ), both Annonaceae ; grapefruit, orange, and lime ( Citrus , Rutaceae ); pineapple ( Ananas , Bromeliaceae ); and Ongokea gore ( Aptandraceae ).

Breeding. Litter size of Pohle’s Fruit Bat is one. Pregnant females were found in August-December in West Africa, and most births occurred at end of wet season (November-December). Lactating females are generally found in dry season (December— March). These findings suggest that females are seasonally monoestrous.

Activity patterns. Pohle’s Fruit Bats were captured throughout the night, with peaks at 19:30-20:30 h, 23:30-02:30 h, and 03:30 h to dawn. They roost in vegetation; one individual was found hanging on a forest tree.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Recapture data indicate that Pohle’s Fruit Bats have extremely restricted home ranges with linear dimensions ofless than a few hundred meters.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List (as Scotonycteris ophiodon ). Overall population of Pohle’s Fruit Bat is in significant decline (but less than 30% over ten years). Its susceptibility to habitat degradation suggests thatits statusis probably be close to Vulnerable. Specific threats include logging, mining, and conversion of forests into agricultural land. Pohle’s Fruit Bat occurs in protected areas such as: Mount Nimba World Heritage Site ( Guinea, Liberia, and Ivory Coast), and Tai National Park ( Ivory Coast).

Bibliography. Bergmans (1991), Eisentraut (1960a), Fahr (2013b), Haiduk et al. (1980), Hassanin (2014), Mickleburgh et al. (2010), Rosevear (1965), Wolton et al. (1982).

Figures

32. Zenker’s Fruit Bat (Scotonycteris zenkeri), 33. Hayman’s Fruit Bat (Scotonycteris occidentalis), 34. Bergmans’s Fruit Bat (Scotonycteris bergmansi), 35. Short-palated Fruit Bat (Casinycteris argynnas), 36. Pohle’s Fruit Bat (Casinycteris ophiodon), 37. Campo-Ma’an Fruit Bat (Casinycteris campomaanensis), 38. Lesser Dawn Bat (Eonycteris spelaea), 39. Greater Dawn Bat (Eonycteris major), 40. Philippine Dawn Bat (Eonycteris robusta), 41. Geoffroy’s Rousette (Rousettus amplexicaudatus), 42. Bare-backed Rousette (Rousettus spinalatus), 43. Leschenault’s Rousette (Rousettus leschenaultin), 44. Linduan Rousette (Rousettus linduensis), 45. Sulawesi Rousette (Rousettus celebensis), 46. Egyptian Rousette (Rousettus aegyptiacus), 47. Malagasy Rousette (Rousettus madagascariensis), 48. Comoro Rousette (Rousettus obliviosus), 49. Long-haired Fruit Bat (Stenonycteris lanosus)

Distribution. Liberia , Ivory Coast , Ghana , Cameroon , and Republic of the Congo .