Jamaican fruit bat
| Jamaican fruit bat | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Phyllostomidae |
| Genus: | Artibeus |
| Species: | A. jamaicensis |
| Binomial name | |
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Artibeus jamaicensis Leach, 1821 |
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| Artibeus jamaicensis range | |
The Jamaican, common or Mexican fruit bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) is a fruit eating bat native to Mexico, through Central America to northwestern South America, as well as the Greater and many of the Lesser Antilles. It is also an uncommon resident of the Southern Bahamas. Populations east of the Andes in South America are now usually regarded a separate species, the flat-faced fruit-eating bat (A. planirostris). The distinctive features of the Jamaican fruit bat (which however are shared by some of its relatives) include the absence of an external tail and a minimal, U-shaped interfemoral membrane.
The Jamaican fruit bat is a medium-sized bat, having a total length of 78–89 mm (3.1–3.5 in) with a 96–150 mm (3.8–5.9 in) wingspan and weighing 40 to 60 g (1.4 to 2.1 oz). It has broad but pointed and ridged ears with a serrated tragus. Its prominent noseleaf has an array of sebaceous glands. The lower lip is littered with warts with a relatively large one in the center. Sebaceous holocrine glands can be found in both lips. On the back the fur is an ashy-shade of gray or brown with visible white hair bases. The wings of the fruit bat are broad and dark gray in color. The underfur is paler in color. The fruit bat has no external tail. It has broad dark grey wings and a narrow hairless interfemoral membrane with a short calcar.
The Jamaican fruit bat ranges from southern Mexico southward to northwestern South America (west Colombia, west Ecuador and northwest Peru). It also lives on the islands of Trinidad, Tobago, Greater and Lesser Antilles and the Florida Keys. Populations east of the Andes in South America (south to Argentina) have traditionally been included in the Jamaican fruit bat, but are now often regarded as a separate species, the flat-faced fruit-eating bat (A. planirostris). Further research is necessary to establish its exact taxonomic status. The Jamaican fruit bat can be found in elevations from sea level to 2,135 m (7,005 ft). This species is found in a variety of habitats. It prefers habitats that are humid and tropical but has also adapted to cloud forests and drier tropical habitats. Fruit bats roost in caves, hollow trees, dense foliage, buildings and leaf tents. The fruit bat may create its own "tent" to roost in by altering broad leaves. These "tents" are only temporarily used.
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Wikipedia