Observations on the food and feeding behaviour of Cynopterus sphinx Vahl (Chiroptera, Pteropodidae) at Pune, India

Abstract

Cynopterus sphinx is an ubiquitous frugivorous bat widely distributed in India and South-east Asia. The species roosts individually or in groups of two to several individuals in the overhanging, cryptic and protective spaces on trees and under man-made structures such as roofs and ceilings.The species forages upon fruits, flowers and leaves of a number of wild and a few orchard species of trees in varying proportions. The seasonal variation in its diet is related to both food preference and availability which are determined by annual cycles of flowering and fruiting in the study area.C. sphinx generally plucks the fruits and carries them away from the original tree to feeding perches where it chews the soft parts, swallows the juice and drops seeds and chewed fibres, thus dispersing seeds. Damage caused to orchard fruits by this species is incidental and often marginal, particularly where there are large numbers of wild food species available. In addition C. sphinx plays some role in the pollination of certain plant species.Resume. -Cynopterus sphinx est une chauve-souris frugivore ubiquiste largement repandue en Inde et dans le sud-est asiatique. Ces chauves-souris vivent suspendues, solitaires ou en groupes de deux ou plus, soit dans des arbres ou elles peuvent se cacher et etre protegees, soit sous des toits ou des plafonds.L'espece recherche les fruits, fleurs et feuilles d'arbres sauvages et de certains arbres fruitiers, en proportion variable. Son regime alimentaire varie au cours des saisons en fonction de ses preferences et de la disponibilite des aliments qui est elle-meme determinee par les cycles annuels de floraison et de fructification dans la region.Ceitc chauve-souris arrache generalement les fruits qu'elle transports ensuite a l'ecart de son arbre pour en manger les parties molles ; eile avale le jus et laisse tomber les graines qui se dispersem ainsi, et les fibres mächees. Les dommages causes aux arbres fruitiers par cette espece sont peu importants, surtout quand il y a beaucoup d'especes sauvages ä proximite. C. sphinx joue aussi un certain role dans la pollinisation de certaines plantes.

Rousettus madagascariensis (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) shows a preference for native and commercially unimportant fruits

“…According to O'Brien et al (1998), given the high concentration of calcium in Ficus fruits, it is not surprising that they are preferred as food by many plant-visiting bats (Morrison 1978), including Cynopterus sphinx and C. brachyotis in Asia (Bhat 1994). Fourteen of 17 fig species found on Barro Colorado Island in Panama are eaten regularly by bats (Kalko et al 1996).…”

Greater Short-Nosed Fruit Bat (Cynopterus sphinx) Foraging and Damage in Vineyards in India

“…It roosts alone or in small groups in so called 'tents' constructed from leaves of Polyalthia longifolia, Vernonia scandens, Borassus flabellifer, Corypha umbraculifera, Corypha spp., Livistona chinensis, Roystonia regia, Areca catechu, altered flower and fruit clusters of Caryota urens, under the leaves of Musa spp., in the leaf clusters of Persea gratissima, clumped leaves of Philodendron giganteum, stems of Saraca asoka, in the cavities of bark and aerial roots of Ficus spp., and in man-made structures (e.g., Brosset, 1962;Khajuria, 1979;Advani, 1982;Bhat, 1994;Bhat and Kunz, 1995;Balasingh et al, 1995;Storz and Kunz, 1999).…”

“…Cynopterus sphinx feeds on fruits, flowers, and leaves of at least 30 species of plants (Phillips, 1980;Advani, 1982;Balasubramanian, 1988;Balasubramanian and Bole, 1993;Bhat, 1994;Rajan et al, 1999). This bat visits fruit-bearing plants that have both 'steady state' (production of a small number of fruits over an extended time period) and 'big-bang' (production of a large number of fruits over a short period) phenological patterns .…”

Social structure of a polygynous tent‐making bat,Cynopterus sphinx(Megachiroptera)

“…Following the birth of the July-August cohort, females are anestrous until October (Krishna & Dominic, 1983;Sandhu, 1984;Sandhu & Gopalakrishna, 1984). Cynopterus sphinx makes use of a wide variety of diurnal roosts and often alters different types of foliage to create "tents" (Goodwin, 1979;Bhat, 1994;Balasingh, Koilraj & Kunz, 1995;Bhat & Kunz, 1995;Storz et al, 2000). In western India, for example, C. sphinx chews and severs the strings of dense, pendulous flower/fruit clusters of the kitul palm Caryota urens to create enclosed, bell-shaped roosting spaces (Bhat & Kunz, 1995).…”