Wing Morphology and Flight Performance in Rousettus Leschenaulti

Elangovan, Vadamalai; Raghuram, Hanumanthan; Priya, Elangovan Yuvana Satya; Marimuthu, G.

doi:10.1644/bwg-131

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The wings of Indian Pygmy Bat, Pipistrellus mimus (Wroughton, 1899), neonates are small and there is a linear increase in wing length and area and decrease in wing loading until sustained flight is attained at ~29 days (first flight ~22 days; Isaac and Marimuthu, 1997). Those of larger fruit bats Cynopterus sphinx (Vahl, 1797) and Rousettus leschenaulti (Desmarest, 1820) similarly exhibit a linear increase in wing length and area until attaining wingspans of 70-80% that of adults and first flight at ~50 days (sustained flight ~60 days) whereas wing loading decreases linearly for ~35 and ~50 days, respectively, before beginning to increase with increasing body mass (Elangovan et al, 2004, 2007). Birds are more variable than bats in this regard, but many hatchling birds lack flight feathers and grow considerably before flying, increasing wing span and area (Starck and Ricklefs, 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New smallest specimen of the pterosaurPteranodonand ontogenetic niches in pterosaurs

Bennett¹

2017

J. Paleontol.

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A new juvenile specimen ofPteranodonfrom the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation of western Kansas had an estimated wingspan in life of 1.76 m, ~45% smaller than the smallest previously known specimens, but does not differ in morphology from larger specimens. Its presence indicates that juveniles were capable of flying long distances, so it falsifies the interpretation ofPteranodonas growing rapidly to adult size under parental care before flying. Instead juveniles were precocial, growing more slowly to adult size while flying and feeding independently for several years before going to sea. Because juveniles are otherwise unknown in the Smoky Hill Chalk Member, they must have occupied different environments and ecological niches than adults; thusPteranodonexhibited ontogenetic niches. Evidence is presented that most other pterosaurs (e.g.,Rhamphorhynchus,Pterodactylus,Anhanguera) also exhibited various ontogenetic niches, which, along with their large body size, suggests that pterosaur taxonomic diversity was rather low, like that of crocodilians.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New smallest specimen of the pterosaurPteranodonand ontogenetic niches in pterosaurs

Bennett¹

2017

J. Paleontol.

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“…In our study C. sphinx foraged normally at the canopy level, R. leschenaultii foraged at upper canopy levels and P. giganteus above the crown area at a greater rate. The variation in foraging height of R. leschenaultiii may be mainly determined by the wing loading and the aspect ratio (Fenton et al 1987;Elangovan et al 2004). The variation in the foraging height also helps the bats to have different foraging strategies, flight mode and food preferences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food and foraging preferences of three pteropodid bats in southern India

Sudhakaran¹,

Doss²

2012

J. Threat. Taxa

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A study on the food, foraging and flight height in three species of pteropodid bats, namely Cynopterus sphinx, Rousettus leschenaultii and Pteropus giganteus was conducted in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts of southern Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 37 species of plants were identified as potential food plants of the pteropodid bats. The preference for fruits by pteropodids varied according to the developmental stages of fruits namely, immature, unripe and ripe. There is a relationship between the foraging activities of bats and the moon phase. Bats exhibit a varied foraging pattern and flight height. A variation in the foraging flight height was observed in C. sphinx and R. leschenaultii. R. leschenaultii was observed to have a higher foraging echelon than that of the C. sphinx. In our study we found that the C. sphinx forages normally at canopy level (up to 3.5m), R. leschenaultii forages at upper canopy levels (up to 9m) and P. giganteus at a height above the canopy area (>9m).

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“…These predictions are supported by empirical studies showing that variables such as wing loading and body size are negatively correlated with the performance of bats in obstacle courses (Aldridge 1987, Aldridge & Rautenbach 1987, Bullen & McKenzie 2001, Stockwell 2001 and the structural complexity of habitats in which they forage (Aldridge & Rautenbach 1987, Crome & Richards 1988, McKenzie et al 1995, Bullen & McKenzie 2001. As a result, wing morphology has been extensively used to predict habitat use and foraging behavior in poorly known bat assemblages (McKenzie & Rolfe 1986, Fullard et al 1991, Hodgkison et al 2004, Jennings et al 2004, Moreno et al 2006) and species (Elangovan et al 2004, 2007, Jones et al 2006, Thabah et al 2007.…”

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confidence: 77%

Can wing morphology inform conservation priorities for Southeast Asian cave bats?

Furey

Racey

2016

Biotropica

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Adaptations for foraging in the complex airspaces of forest interiors may make bat species in the Asian tropics particularly susceptible to forest loss. However, ecomorphological analysis of Vietnamese bat assemblages challenges the hypothesis that, due to their greater vagility, cave-roosting bats are less vulnerable to habitat fragmentation than foliage-roosting species. Of the 13 most highly adapted forest-interior species in our study, eight were cave-roosting members of the Rhinolophidae and Hipposideridae and had wing morphologies closely resembling five foliage-roosting members of the Murininae and Kerivoulinae-species typically thought to have low vagility. Overall, both cave-roosting and foliage-roosting bats exhibited a wide range of flight indices and species' wing designs corresponded with preferred foraging habitats, suggesting that foraging strategy may outweigh roost preference as a determinant of bat wing morphology and flight performance. Consequently, where such variation occurs, cave-roosting bat ensembles are likely to include species with low vagility and similar sensitivity to habitat fragmentation. This could have important conservation implications as Asian karst formations support high cave densities and important bat diversity yet increasingly represent forest refugia in anthropogenic landscapes. We, therefore, advocate greater consideration of species vagility in determining conservation priorities for the region's bat fauna.Abstract in Vietnamese is available with online material.

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Wing Morphology and Flight Performance in Rousettus Leschenaulti

Cited by 15 publications

References 36 publications

New smallest specimen of the pterosaurPteranodonand ontogenetic niches in pterosaurs

New smallest specimen of the pterosaurPteranodonand ontogenetic niches in pterosaurs

Food and foraging preferences of three pteropodid bats in southern India

Can wing morphology inform conservation priorities for Southeast Asian cave bats?

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