Page 20 - Mammal (DK Eyewitness)

Five­clawed feet grip roosting branch

No tail (some bats have tails)

Tail membrane

Wing membrane (patagium)

Good eyesight ­
the fruit bat has
large, forward ­
facing eyes

Keen sense of smell

Typical mammalian fur
Upper arm
Light colored collar round neck

Forearm outstretched during flight
FURRY FLYING FRUIT EATER
This Borneo fruit bat (a male) displays his foxlike face, showing
why some fruit bats are called flying foxes. Fruit bats tend to use
their excellent eyesight and keen noses rather than
echolocation. At dusk they fly from roosts to feed, and in crop-
Blood vessels can be seen through growing areas they can do tremendous damage. But they are
wing membrane also an essential part of the local ecology, since they transfer
pollen from plant to plant as they feed, and they scatter plant
seeds in their droppings. Not all species eat the fruit whole,
however. Some work the fruit around the mouth, moving it from
cheek to cheek, biting and sucking, and swallowing only the
juices. The chewedup, leftover fibers are then spat onto the
ground below. To be below such a feeding flock is an unnerving
experience, as the bats chew loudly in the branches, spit out
pellets and let their droppings rain down.

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