Short-palated fruit bat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Short-palated fruit bat |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Pteropodidae |
| Genus: | Casinycteris |
| Species: |
C. argynnis
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| Binomial name | |
| Casinycteris argynnis Thomas, 1910
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| Short-palated fruit bat range | |
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The short-palated fruit bat (Casinycteris argynnis) is a type of fruit bat. It's a medium-sized bat that mainly eats fruit. You can find these bats in parts of Africa, like Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They live in warm, wet lowland forests. Baby bats are usually born in May.
Contents
About the Short-Palated Fruit Bat
What Does It Look Like?
This bat's head and body are about 90 to 95 millimeters (about 3.5 to 3.7 inches) long. It has a very small, almost hidden tail. Its forearm, which is part of its wing, measures about 50 to 63 millimeters (about 2 to 2.5 inches). These bats weigh between 26 and 30 grams, which is about the same as a few quarters.
The fur on its body is light brown. But some parts, like its nose, eyelids, ears, and wings, can be yellowish-green or even bright orange! Each strand of its brown fur is darker at the base and tip, and lighter in the middle.
Special Features
You can spot this bat by some unique marks. It has small tufts of white hair at the base of its ears. There are also two long, white patches near and behind its eyes. Its eyes have large, round pupils that almost cover the yellow-brown part of its eye.
Its nose is flat and pinkish. The ears and wing membranes are yellowish-brown. Unlike many other bats, its wing membrane connects to the first toe, not the second.
What Does It Eat?
The short-palated fruit bat has a very special mouth. Its back teeth (premolars and molars) are shaped differently from other fruit bats. The bones in its cheeks are wide, and its jaw is built for crushing food. This means it probably crushes its food instead of cutting it.
Its palate, the roof of its mouth, is short and bony. These features, along with its short row of teeth, suggest it might eat things other than just fruit. It could even eat insects, which is unusual for a fruit bat!
Protecting the Short-Palated Fruit Bat
Is It in Danger?
Even though these bats can be found in large numbers in some parts of Africa, they face a threat from deforestation. This is when forests are cut down.
However, the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) lists this species as "Least Concern." This means they believe that cutting down forests is unlikely to cause a big drop in the bat's population right now. People are still working to protect their forest homes.
 | Laphonza Butler |
 | Daisy Bates |
 | Elizabeth Piper Ensley |
