Chironax tumulus, Bergmans & Rozendaal, 1988

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 16-162 : 77-78

30.

Sulawesi Black-capped Fruit Bat

Chironax tumulus

French: Cynoptere de Sulawesi / German: Sulawesi-Schwarzkappenflughund / Spanish: Chironax de Sulawesi

Other common names: Sulawesian Black-capped Fruit Bat

Taxonomy. Chironax melanocephalus tumulus Bergmans & Rozendaal, 1988 ,

Sungei Moinakom, Dumoga-Bone National Park, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Chironax tumulus was described as a Sulawesi subspecies of C. melanocephalus but considered full species following W. Bergmans in 2011. Monotypic.

Distribution. NE, CE & SE Sulawesi.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 55: 6 mm (tailless), ear 9-10 mm, hindfoot 9-10 mm, forearm 43-48 mm; weight 12-17 g. Head has moderately elongated muzzle and is blackish and almost hairless; nostrils are shortly tubular and divergent; and philtrum is divided into two parallel grooves; and lowerlip pads are large. Eyes are large;iris is dark brown. Ears are short, rounded, and black. Head pelage is short, dense, and very dark, blackish brown; pelage is dark grayish brown on nape and dorsum. Uropatagium is undeveloped at center and densely covered dorsally with soft brown hairs, calcar is small, and foot claws are whitish. Throatis sparsely haired. Cheeks, sides of neck, and shoulders are strongly demarked against dark head and dorsum. Fur on shoulders, breast, and belly is light yellowish white; thin yellowish ruff occurs on some adult males. Flanks and post-genital areas are grayish. Underside of uropatagium is densely haired. Wing membranes are black from sides of body and attach on second toe; index claw is present. Skull is small and delicate, with no basicranial deflection; rostrum is relatively long, with fused premaxillae, gently sloping into forehead; orbit is large; zygomatic root is only slightly above upper alveolar line; zygoma is very thin and arched posteriorly; and braincase is globose. Dorsally, rostrum is relatively wide; paranasal recesses are slightly inflated reaching root of blunt, short, triangular postorbital processes; postorbital constriction is not obvious; braincase is oval without noticeable sagittal crest; and nuchal crest is inconspicuous. Ventrally, palate is flat, tooth rows gently diverge, teeth are spaced, post-dental palate is long and convergent, end of post-dental palate is flat, sphenoid crest is present, ectotympanic is small, wide anteriorly, and internally edged by adpressed and wide entotympanic. Mandible is thin, coronoid is long and sloping, condyle is level with lower alveolar line, and angle is indistinct. There are 9-10 arched interdental palatal ridges, with the more posterior ones divided at middle, followed by 1-2 irregular denticulate ridges and one arched denticulate ridge near end of post-dental palate. Upper dentition has two pairs of crowded,relatively short incisors; C' is thin, short, and slightly decurved; P! is a spicule; next premolar (P°) lacks additional anteroexternal cusp; and all posterior cheekteeth decrease in size and have rectangular outlines. Lower dentition has two pairs of small incisors, C, is weak and barely curved, Pp, has pointed crown, posterior cheekteeth are anteriorly almost as high as C, and decrease in size, and M,is minute.

Habitat. [Lowland rainforest up to elevations of 960 m.

Food and Feeding. The Sulawesi Black-capped Fruit Bat is presumably frugivorous.

Breeding. Pregnant Sulawesi Black-capped Fruit Bats were recorded in March-April.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. The Sulawesi Blackcapped Fruit Bat was included under the Sundaic Black-capped Fruit Bat ( C. melanocephalus ), which was classified as Least Concern. Populations are not fragmented.

Bibliography. Bergmans (2011), Bergmans & Rozendaal (1988), Hutson, Kingston & Suyanto (2008), Maharadatunkamsi (2012), Wiantoro et al. (2017).

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. NE, CE & SE Sulawesi.