Salim Ali's fruit bat

Taxobox | name = Salim Ali's fruit bat
status = EN | status_system = IUCN3.1


image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
subphylum = Vertebrata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Chiroptera
familia = Pteropodidae
genus = "Latidens"
genus_authority = Thonglongya, 1972
species = "L. salimalii"
binomial = "Latidens salimalii"
binomial_authority = Thonglongya, 1972

Salim Ali's fruit bat ("Latidens salimalii") is a rare megabat species in the monotypic genus "Latidens".

It was first collected by Angus Hutton, a planter and naturalist in the High Wavy Mountains in the western ghats of Theni district, Tamilnadu in South India in 1948.

It was originally misidentified as a short-nosed fruit bat ("Cynopterus") but later identified by Kitti Thonglongya as a new species and was named after the famous Indian ornithologist Salim Ali in 1972.

This bat is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, IUCN Red List "Latidens salimalii", retrieved 3/31/2007 [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/11374/all IUCN Red List "Latidens salimalii"] ]

Description

It is medium sized and has no external tail. Ears are oval with rounded tips. The head is covered by blackish brown fur and the wing is light brown in colour and the underparts are light grey-brown with the brown wing membrane (Patagium) hairless. It has fifteen palatal ridges. The beak rostrum is long and narrow and the palate is very long especially postdental portion. Post orbital foramina is absent. Incisors 1 pair and peg like, cheek teeth brad. First premolars are very small and slightly exceeds the incisors in the crown area. Body length is 10 cm, hindfeet 0.8-1.5 cm, forearm 6.6 cm. [ARKive Wildscreen, Salim Ali's fruit bat ("Latidens salmalii") more information, retrieved 3/31/2007 [http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Latidens_salmalii/more_info.html Salim Ali's fruit bat (Latidens salmalii)] ]

It was observed that these bats eat fresh fruits of, "Elaeocarpus oblongus" ("Rudraksh" or bead tree) and the figs: "Ficus glomerata" (Cluster fig), "Ficus macrocarpa" (Indian Laurel Fig) and "Ficus beddomei" ("Thavital", a Strangler fig). [ SINGARAVELAN N. and MARIMUTHU G. (10 JANUARY 2003) "Mist net captures of the rarest fruit bat "Latidens salimalii" CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 84, NO. 1, retrieved 3/31/2007 [http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/jan102003/24.pdf full text] ]

Range

The first description of the bat was from a single specimen collected at an altitude of 750 meters in the High Wavy Mountains of the Annamalai Western Ghats, Theni district, Tamilnadu, South India.

In 2002 the Indian government [Zoological Survey of India [http://stp.unipune.ernet.in/zsi/index.html Zoological Survey of India] ] added the Wroughton's free-tailed bat ("Otomops wroughtonii") and Salim Ali's fruit bat ("Latidens salimalii") to Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, affording these two species the highest level of protection. The other 112 species of bats in India were not affected. [Bat Conservation International (February 2003) "No Longer Vermin" Batcon.org Newsletter, Vol 2, No. 2, retrieved 3/31/2007 [http://www.batcon.org/newsletter/enews-0203/enews-0203-vermin.html "No Longer Vermin"] ]

In 2004 an increase in recorded numbers and distribution of the taxon called into question the validity of the current classification and suggests that "Latidens salimalii" be reclassified as Endangered. [Vanitharani, J., M. Pearch, L. Jeya Praba and R. Annamalai. 2004. A review of the distribution and status of "Latidens salimalii" (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) with new records from the Western Ghats, India. Lutra, 47(1): 21-32., Abstract retrieved 3/31/2007 [http://www.vzz.nl/lutra/lutra47-1.htm A review of the distribution and status of "Latidens salimalii",...] ]

References