Long-tongued fruit bat

Long-tongued fruit bat
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Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Macroglossinae
Genus:	Macroglossus
Species:	M. sobrinus
Binomial name
Macroglossus sobrinus K. Andersen, 1911
File:Long-tongued Fruit Bat area.png
Long-tongued fruit bat range

The long-tongued fruit bat (Macroglossus sobrinus) is a species of megabat.

Distribution

M. sobrinus specimens were mist-netted from Doi Suthep, Sungai Enam, Kuala Gandah, Wang Pinang Malaysia to Taleban on the Asian mainland. This species is distributed in Burma, Thailand, Vietnam and Peninsular Sumatra, Java and Bali. This species is commonly found in hilly areas in Malaysia.

Biology and ecology

Five adult males and five adult females were recorded. On 25 March 1997, a full-term foetus was aborted by a pregnant female taken from Wang Pinang. Males with enlarged testes suggested they were in a sexually active state at Taleban in March 1997, Kuala Gandah in July 1997, and Doi Suthep in May 1997. M. sobrinus specimens that were netted were all associated with banana plants in most sites, and with flowering trees in Doi Suthep.

M. sobrinus can be isolated from M. minimus by external morphological measurements. Comparatively, M. sobranus is smaller than M. minimus in the forearm length (43.35 to 46.95 mm vs 40 to 43 mm) and head length (30.05 to 30.54 mm vs 26 to 28 mm) and heavier body weight (17 to 23 g vs 13 to 19 g). However, the tail length (0-2 mm versus 0-5 mm) and hind foot (8 - 9 mm versus 15-18 mm) disagreed to that of Lekagul and McNeely (1977).

See also

• Macroglossus