EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Wahlberg's Epauletted Fruit-bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi)
Lake Baringo, Rift Valley, Kenya

Explanation:    With a face like a small dog, these are Wahlberg's epauletted fruit-bats on a day roost along the shoreline of Lake Baringo in western Kenya's Rift Valley country. 

These large bats are one of 6 similarly-appearing species of Epomophorus in Africa.  Most or all of these species have white tufts of hair behind and at the base of their ears (seen in these photos), and on their shoulders as white epaulets that hide glandular patches (not seen here, hidden by their folded wings).  

This particular species is identified in part by its range distribution, but in the hand the only way to distinguish among the 6 Epomophorus species is by the number and configuration of ridges on its palate inside the mouth!

Wahlberg's epauletted fruit-bats commonly roost relatively low in trees and can be found in cities along Africa's east coast.  In some locations, different species of epauletted fruit-bats roost together, making species identification problematic.

Wahlberg's epauletted fruit-bats do indeed eat fruit, and thereby, like other fruit bats, probably serve as dispersers of fruit-bearing trees in tropical woodlands and forests.  Further, fruit-bats often engage in long-distance movements to seek out fruit, and thereby can disperse seeds over long distances as well.  Other foods include flowers, nectar, and pollen; the species may also serve as key pollinators for some forest plants.  They are known to be key pollinators of baobab trees.