The Short-Tailed, Leaf Nosed Bat
• Common name: Short-tailed, Leaf-Nosed Fruit bat.
• Scientific or Latin name: Carollia perspicillata.
• Scientific Classification:
Class: Mammalia. Order: Chiroptera.
Family: Phyllostomidae . Genus: Carollia.
Species: perspicillata.
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Short-Tailed, Leaf Nosed Bat
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• Common name: Short-tailed, Leaf-Nosed Fruit bat.
• Scientific or Latin name: Carollia perspicillata.
• Scientific Classification:
Class: Mammalia. Order: Chiroptera.
Family: Phyllostomidae . Genus: Carollia.
Species: perspicillata.
Short-Tailed, Leaf Nosed Bat
Pictures
Of all the species at the Centre, the fruit bats are most in need of support because there isn't any way to economize on quality of food for them. At the Centre we have been able to save many youngsters through frequent and careful monitoring of the colony, and as newly weaned youngsters who show difficulty in finding their first solid food are discovered, a teaspoonful of finely chopped fruit is carefully maneuvered underneath the nose of these nearly comatose offspring. One or two feedings of this nature is usually sufficient to save many more young than would survive in nature. Bearing this in mind, the Centre decided to captive propagate the Short-tailed, Leaf-Nosed Fruit bat in captivity. Rain forests are totally unable to regenerate without fruit bats due to the very important fact that the seeds of all new growth species of plants and trees are dispersed by these bats. In fact, 70% of all of the World's fruit is pollinated solely by bats. Also, this species is one of the only species responsible for the pollination of the majority of the night flowering flora of their delicate amazonian rain forest habitat. A task that would not be possible without this species. A single Short-tailed, Leaf-Nosed Fruit bat is capable of dispersing 60,000 seeds in a single night. Obviously, this species of Fruit bat is an essential species for the reforestation of the Amazon Rain forest. Research has shown that bacteria produced by bats shows promise as a possible source for new antibiotics and bacteria for use in toxic waste cleanups.
• Distinguishing characteristics: The adult weight is between 16 and 20 grams. This species is usually dark brown to gray in older animals, although one in approximately 500 is bright orange.
• Habitat and natural range: Short-tailed fruit bats are found over a large area through Central and South America. In fact, they are found from Southern Veracruz in Mexico in the north of their range to Paraguay to the south. From Columbia in the west of their range to Brazil in the east. They are also naive to the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, and in Grenada and the Caribbean.
Carollia are not at all fussy about their choice of roosting sites. Like most bats, they will roost in enclosed areas like caves or buildings, however they will also commonly roost in the open along the twigs and foliage of trees and shrubs. Wherever they roost, they are divided into three classes of bats, these being; adult females, territorial (harem) males, and bachelors. The adult females form tight clusters, on average containing 2 to 3 individuals, but may contain up to 18. Each group of these reproductive females is watched over by one adult male, the harem or territorial individual. Bachelor roosts contain sub adults of both genders as well as subordinate adult males. Competition is vigorous among males for dominance.
• Natural diet: Although the full extent of the natural diet of this species is unknown, it is known that Carollia feed upon a huge variety of fruits of tropical shrubs and trees. they even catch small flying insects in their interfemorial membranes in a manner similar to that of the more familiar Myotis bats.
• Reproduction: Carollia produce only two young a year, usually in the spring or fall. In this species the newly born young are astonishingly large and developed. Their are born with their eyes and ears completely open, and they are born with almost a complete coat of hair. The mother Carollia produces large amounts of milk for the first month of the young bat’s life, then milk production tapers off during an additional 2 to 4 weeks. At the end of the neonatal period the young bat is left at the daytime roost site while the mother goes to feed. With this species however, the babies are not deposited in groups, instead they are left singly. In this species the young grow very fast. For example their forearm length increases from 24.4 mm at birth to full adult size by the age of six weeks. The adult size is 40 to 35 mm.
They are nursed by their attentive mother every 15 minutes, a task which due to its frequency makes hand rearing of this species virtually impossible. They are also weaned very suddenly, and as a result they have a high incidence of infant mortality at weaning due to the fact that unless the youngster successfully finds a source of fresh fruit within a few hours they will rapidly perish in their natural habitat. During pregnancy the body weight of the female increases by about a third. Between the ages of 18 to 24 days, the young short tailed fruit bats go from being clumsy flyers to adept ones. However it takes another few weeks before their flight patterns resemble those of the adults in terms of their speed and control of their flight. The newborn bats weight about 5 grams, which is 28% of the female’s postpartum mass.
• Notes on Captive propagation (at the Centre): In captivity, this species (due to its high metabolic rate) consumes vast amounts of fruit. This has created quite a problem for us because fruit is very expensive and has to be of a high quality and very fresh. The reason for this is that although these bats are known as fruit feeders they are actually juice feeders. They strain out the juice and spit out the pulp and seeds.
• Circumstances affecting Conservation: With vast areas of the rain forest in the Amazon River Basin being clear cut, the natural habitat of so many different species of animals is being destroyed so rapidly that it is impossible to list all of the species that have been adversely affected. It has been predicted that we will lose as much as two thirds of the worlds tropical species in the coming decades.
If you feel, as we do that captive propagation functions as an insurance policy against extinction, and want to help, click the button on our contents page; "How you can Help", or click its text here in quotations.