Epomophorus crypturus, Peters, 1852

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 16-162 : 97

63.

Peters’s Epauletted Fruit Bat

Epomophorus crypturus

French: Epomophore de Peters / German: Peters-Epaulettenflughund / Spanish: Epoméforo de Peters

Other common names: Smaller Epauletted Fruit Bat

Taxonomy. Epomophorus crypturus Peters, 1852 ,

Tete, Mozambique.

Epomophorus crypturus is in the gambianus species group and is often considered a subspecies of E. gambianus . Epomophorus g. parvus is a synonym of E. erypturus based on morphology. Monotypic.

Distribution. S Africa, from E Angola and N Botswana E to coast of Mozambique, and along E African coast from S Tanzania to E South Africa.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 130-170 mm (males) and 110-140 mm (females), tail 0-5 mm, ear 21-27 mm (males) and 22-25 mm (females), hindfoot 16-26 mm (males) and 17-24 mm (females), forearm 80-88 mm (males) and 75-83 mm (females); weight 91-140 g (males) and 56 100 g (females). Males average larger than females and have broader muzzle, folded upperlip, and darker throat. Head is flat, muzzle is very long and relatively narrow, and cheek pouches and lips are greatly extensible. Eyes are large; irises are brown. Ears are relatively short, with anterior and posterior basal ear patches and dark brown rims. Tongue is long, with backward-pointing papillae neartip. Adult males have epaulettes, formed by 9-mm white hairs. Dorsum is generally pale fawn or light sandy brown (darker in some individuals, almost sepia-brown), paler on shoulders, with yellowish touches on head, neck, and rump; hairs are dark brown at bases; pelage is soft and mid-dorsally 10-11 mm,extending along forearm dorsally and ventrally. Venterisslightly to substantially paler than dorsum,and throat is sometimes rusty brown (primarily in adult males). Wings have claw on second digits, and membranes are light brown and sparsely covered in hairs, attaching to second toes. Skull is robust,flattened, and very slightly convex in lateral view; rostrum is long and broad in males and of medium breadth in females, sloping gradually ventrally. Braincase is slightly deflected posteriorly;sagittal crest is low but generally clearly visible; lambdoid crest is fairly well developed; zygomatic width is relatively small, with sturdy arches; and post-dental palate is clearly concave. There are six thick palatal ridges, of which two are post-dental; fourth is midway between third and fifth; and ridges 2-4 are not divided. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 35 (males) and 36 (females) and FNa = 68, with six pairs of metacentric, seven pairs of submetacentric, and four pairs of subtelocentric autosomes; male is missing small submetacentric chromosome,leading to a XX/XO sex chromosome system.

Habitat. Zambezian Woodland and Coastal Forest Mosaic biotic zones (tropical and subtropical woodlands), frequently forest edges with evergreen trees and along riverine forests into drier areas, at elevations of 500-2185 m.

Food and Feeding. Peters’s Epauletted Fruit Bat feeds opportunistically on nectar of at least 20 species of trees, predominantly Malvaceae (Adansonia) and Bignoniaceae (Kigelia) ; soft fruits of Moraceae (Ficus) , Anacardiaceae ( Sclerocarya birrea), Ebenaceae (Diospyros) , Chrysobalanaceae (Parinari) , Phyllanthaceae ( Pseudolachnostylis and Uapaca ), Rhamnaceae (Berchemia) , Sapotaceae (Mimusops) , and Apocynaceae (Rauvolfia) ; and many cultivated fruits (the latter eaten when overripe and no longersuitable for sale). Fruits are carried to a close feeding site. About four food trees are visited each night that are less than 500 m from their roosts, although they can travel several kilometers in search for food (4-14 km in very dry periods). Seeds can germinate after passing through intestinal tracts.

Breeding. Pregnant Peters’s Epauletted Fruit Bats were recorded in Zimbabwe in July— March, with peaks in August, and lactating females in summer (November—January). Lactating females were found in November and March-April in Malawi and eastern Zambia. Littersize is one, very exceptionally two, and there is probably one litter/year.

Activity patterns. Peters’s Epauletted Fruit Bat is nocturnal. Right after dusk, males call from their roosts (fundamental frequency 15 kHz) to attract females. Foraging starts ¢.45 minutes after sunset. It roosts in foliage, usually on small shaded branches In evergreen trees,fig trees ( Ficus spp. ), or Kigelia africana trees.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Peters’s Epauletted Fruit Bats roost alone or in small groups; up to several hundred individuals can occur in one roost area. They hang spaced ¢. 30 cm and hardly contact each another, except upon returning to the roost at dawn when they start to quarrel and use their thumbs if other individuals come too close. Populations can move considerable distances in search of food and enter towns and feed on crops and fruit trees.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Peters’s Epauletted Fruit Bat has a wide distribution and presumably large population thatis not declining fast enough to assign it to a higher category. Except for some possible local persecution as crop pests, it faces no major threats.

Bibliography. Adams & Snode (2015), Bergmans (1988, 1997), Bergmans & Sowler (1992a), Bonaccorso et al. (2014), Claessen & De Vree (1990), Happold, M. (2013b), Mickleburgh, Hutson & Bergmans (2008c), Monadjem, Taylor et al. (2010), Peterson & Nagorsen (1975), Taylor (2016a).

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. S Africa, from E Angola and N Botswana E to coast of Mozambique , and along E African coast from S Tanzania to E South Africa .