Epomops franqueti (Tomes, 1860)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 16-162 : 95

59.

Franquet’s Epauletted Fruit Bat

Epomops franqueti

French: Epomophore de Franquet / German: Franguet-Epaulettenflughund / Spanish: Epomops de Franquet

Taxonomy. Epomophorus franqueti Tomes, 1860 ,

“ Gabon.”

A described subspecies strepitans from southern Nigeria has not been regularly accepted because there seems to be clinal differences in E. franqueti , with size increasing from West to Central Africa. Monotypic.

Distribution. W & C Africa from SE Ivory Coast E to South Sudan and Uganda, S to N Zambia and N Angola.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 110-165 mm (males) and 115-180 mm (females), tail 0-1 mm, ear 23-27 mm, hindfoot 24-28 mm (males) and 21-25 mm (females), forearm 84-101 mm (males) and 77-96 mm (females); weight 92-172 g (males) and 61-130 g (females). Males average larger than females, with larger and more robust heads. Muzzle is relatively long and broad;lips and cheeks are fleshy and expandable, particularly in males; eyes are large, with brown irises; and ears are dark brown, with anterior and posterior basal ear patches. Epaulettes formed by an eversible muscular pocketfilled with long, erectile, white hairs are present on adult males and used in display; females have small, inconspicuous invagination on each shoulder with 12-mm pale brown hairs; dorsum is generally fawn, light brown to reddish brown in both sexes; sometimes paler grayish brown on shoulders and nape, with unicolored hairs; and pelage is soft, slightly fluffy, and mid-dorsally ¢. 8 mm, extending about halfway on forearm dorsally and ventrally. Venter is paler brown, regularly changing into ample white patch on chest and abdomen. Wings have claw on second digits; membranes are medium to dark brown, attached to second toes, and sparsely covered in hairs for about one-half upper surface and about one-third lower surface. Skull is medium-sized, with basicranial deflection; dorsal profile is generally straight or somewhat concave in rostral and interorbital regions; rostrum is of medium relative length; zygomatic arches are sturdy and long; and palate is relatively short and weakly concave from side-to-side and anteroposteriorly. There are three thick and 5-8 thin palatal ridges; ridges 1-2 are undivided; ridge 3 is exceptionally divided; ridges 4 and onward are narrowly divided and finely serrated; and post-dental palate is almost flat. Larynx is ossified in adult males. Dental formula for all species of Epomopsis 12/2, C1/1,P 2/3, M 1/2 (x2) = 28, but I* is frequently missing, often in females. P' is separated from C' by large diastema, and P|is reduced but larger than an incisor. Chromosomal complement for four females and one male from Cameroon had 2n = 36 and FNa = 66, with 13 pairs of metacentric or submetacentric and four pairs of submetacentric or subtelocentric autosomes. X-chromosome was medium-sized subtelocentric, and Y-chromosome was small subtelocentric. In Gabon, chromosomal complement had 2n = 35 (single male) and 36 (females) and FNa = 66; Y-chromosome was missing, leading to XX/XO sex chromosome system.

Habitat. Primarily rainforest and rainforest-savanna mosaic, both wetter and drier types, and marginally Guinea Savanna and Zambezian Woodland biotic zones (in relict and riverine forests), from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 1850 m. Franquet’s Epauletted Fruit Bat was also reported from secondary forests ( Gabon), often clearings close to dense groundcover, and gardens.

Food and Feeding. Franquet’s Epauletted Fruit Bat takes fruit from canopies and sometimes also fallen fruit. Fruits are stored in expandable cheeks and taken to a perch at up to 200 m away. Food is held by a foot, mouth, wrists, or in pocket formed by wing membrane when a wrist is flexed (thumbs are generally only used to cling on perch or leaf). Fruits from at least 14 plant genera in ten families are consumed. In Gabon, females prefer fruits from Solanum torvum ( Solanaceae ); males preferfigs.

Breeding. Litter size of Franquet’s Epauletted Fruit Bat is one. In Uganda, reproductive chronology is continuous bimodal polyestry, with postpartum estrus. Gestation lasts 5-6 months, and births occur in March and September. Lactating females are found almost year-round; young are probably weaned only a few weeks before the next birth. Franquet’s Epauletted Fruit Bat has an “exploded” lek mating system (i.e. not tight clusters such as leks of the Hammer-headed Fruit Bat, Hypsignathus monstrosus ), where a male has a territory of ¢. 200 m in diameter. These territories contain enough resources for females to feed and roost but are probably selected for optimizing display and minimizing predation. Individual leks are 2—4 km apart. During displays, males beat their wings, show off their epaulettes, and make honking sounds about once a second; this calling continues throughout the night.

Activity patterns. Franquet’s Epauletted Fruit Bat is nocturnal. It is slow and maneuverable, generally flying through canopies and aboveground.It roosts in dense foliage of large trees (e.g. Terminalia , Combretaceae ), close to or over water surfaces, where it hangs from branches 4-6 m aboveground, rarely in low bushes.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Franquet’s Epauletted Fruit Bat roosts singly, sometimes in pairs and exceptionally in trios. In Gabon, home ranges have radii of 600-800 m, with males having larger home ranges than females.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. Franquet’s Epauletted Fruit Bat has a wide distribution and presumably large population. It is probably not declining fast enough to be assigned to a higher category. Major threats are probably habitat loss due to deforestation and recently persecution and extermination as a result of fear for their potential to transmit zoonotic diseases (e.g. Ebola virus).

Bibliography. ACR (2018), Aellen (1952), Andersen (1910a), Bergmans (1989), Gembu Tungaluna (2012), Haiduk et al. (1980), Happold, M. (2013i), Kityo & Nalikka (2016), Monadjem, Taylor et al. (2010), Primus et al. (2006), Simmons (2005).

Figures

50. Western Woermann’s Fruit Bat (Megaloglossus azagnyi), 51. Eastern Woermann’s Fruit Bat (Megaloglossus woermanni), 52. Angolan Soft-furred Fruit Bat (Lissonycteris angolensis), 53. Little Collared Fruit Bat (Myonycteris torquata), 54. Sao Tome Collared Fruit Bat (Myonycteris brachycephala), 55. Sierra Leone Collared Fruit Bat (Myonycteris leptodon), 56. Bergmans’s Collared Fruit Bat (Myonycteris relicta), 57. Broad-faced Fruit Bat (Plerotes anchietae), 58. Hammer-headed Fruit Bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus), 59. Franquet’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomops franqueti), 60. Buttikofer’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomops buettikoferi), 61. Veldkamp’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Nanonycteris veldkampr), 62. Gambian Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus gambianus), 63. Peters’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus erypturus), 64. Angolan Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus angolensis), 65. Little Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus labiatus), 66. Minor Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus minor), 67. Ansell’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus anselli), 68. Wahlberg's Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi), 69. Dobson’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus dobsonu), 70. Sanborn’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus grands), 71. Lesser Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus pusillus), 72. Hayman’s Epauletted Fruit Bat (Epomophorus intermedius)

Distribution. W & C Africa from SE Ivory Coast E to South Sudan and Uganda , S to N Zambia and N Angola .