EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Out on a Limb

Giant Fruit Bat (Pteropus giganteus), Family Pteropodidae
Bhaktapur, Nepal

Explanation:   We didn't expect to see this in the local city park, here in Bhaktapur, just east of the metropolis of Kathmandu, Nepal.  This was an urban colony of giant fruit bats sleeping on their day roost ... hanging by their toes, out on a limb.

These bats are, well, giant, among the largest in the world.  Their wings can span 1.2 to 1.5 meters (4 to 5 feet).  

But fear not, these are gentle fruit-eaters that will fly many kilometers in search of mangos, figs, guavas, and other parts of flowering plants such as nectar and blooms.  They also take insects, and play key roles in tropical forests by dispersing seeds of plants.  They can be damaging to fruit orchards, however, and are known to spread some diseases.  
  

  
The species is out on a limb in more than one way, being one of several species of flying fox and thus in its own limb on its family tree.  

  
   
Information:
     Yadav, PD, CG Raut, AM Shete, AC Mishra, JS Towner, ST Nichol, and DT Mourya.  2012.  Detection of Nipah Virus RNA in Fruit Bat (Pteropus giganteus) from India.  The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 87(3):576-578.