Dark fruit-eating bat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dark fruit-eating bat |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Phyllostomidae |
| Genus: | Artibeus |
| Species: |
A. obscurus
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| Binomial name | |
| Artibeus obscurus Wied-Neuwied, 1826
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| Dark Fruit-eating Bat range | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Artibeus fuliginosus |
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The dark fruit-eating bat (Artibeus obscurus) is a cool bat species that lives in South America. These bats are known for eating fruit, which helps spread seeds in their forest homes.
Contents
What Does the Dark Fruit-Eating Bat Look Like?
These bats are quite small. They are usually about 8 cm (3.1 in) long. That's about the length of a crayon! They weigh between 30 to 52 g (1.1 to 1.8 oz), which is like a few strawberries.
Their fur is special. It's longer and darker than their close bat relatives. Most of their body is dark brown or even black, with a bit of white on the tips of their fur, making it look frosty. Their belly is a lighter color. They also have faint, light stripes on their face.
A cool feature is their nose-leaf. This is a broad, leaf-shaped part on their nose. It has a distinct horseshoe shape that is separate from their upper lip. Their snout is quite narrow for a small bat. They have rounded ears with a sharply pointed part inside called a tragus.
Where Do Dark Fruit-Eating Bats Live?
Dark fruit-eating bats live all over the Amazon Basin. You can find them in most parts of Brazil, except the very south. They also live in countries like the Guyanas, Venezuela, Bolivia, and other Amazonian regions.
These bats love to live in rainforests. They can be found from sea level all the way up to 1,400 m (4,600 ft) high. In the southern parts of their home range, they also live in savannahs and patchy forests where some trees lose their leaves. There are no different types or subspecies of this bat.
How Do Dark Fruit-Eating Bats Live?
Dark fruit-eating bats usually fly low to the ground. They travel through the forest close to the plants and trees. During the day, they like to rest and sleep. They often roost under large leaves or pieces of bark that are peeling off trees. They usually pick spots about 4 to 7 m (13 to 23 ft) above the ground.
As their name suggests, these bats love to eat fruit! They especially enjoy figs. They also eat fruit from trees like shimbillo and uvilla.
Mating for these bats happens between September and November. After mating, the female bat usually gives birth to just one baby bat.
Gallery
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A close-up of the dark fruit-eating bat's teeth.
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The skull of a dark fruit-eating bat.
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Another view of the dark fruit-eating bat's skull.
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A different angle of the dark fruit-eating bat's skull.
 | James Van Der Zee |
 | Alma Thomas |
 | Ellis Wilson |
 | Margaret Taylor-Burroughs |
