LITMIR.BIZ

      Figure 47. Skull and teeth of Eidolon helvum: (a) dorsal view, (b) ventral view, (c) lateral view, and (d) lateral view of mandible (SMM 6848).

      Extralimital: Eidolon helvum is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, occurring from Senegal in the west to Kenya in the east, south into southern Africa and north to the Sahel (DeFrees and Wilson 1988, Bergmans 1990).

      Foraging ecology: Eidolon helvum has broad wings with high wing loading (30.6 N.m-2) and low aspect ratio (6.9) (Norberg and Rayner 1987). There is no information on the diet or foraging behaviour of this species in southern Africa, but elsewhere it feeds on the following fruits (both wild and cultivated) and on some flowers (Fujita and Tuttle 1991): Anacardium occidentale, Mangifera indica, Pseudospondias spp., Spondias mombin, Annona spp., Kigelia aethiopica, K. pinnata, Adansonia digitata, Bombax buonopozense, Ceiba pentandra, Ochroma pyramidale, Carica papaya, Musanga cecropioides, Parinari excelsa, Terminalia spp., Bridelia ferruginea, Sapium ellipticum, Persea americana, Albizia spp., Erythrina spp., Parkia clappertoniana, P. filicoidea, P. roxburghii, Antiaris africana, Artocarpus spp., Chlorophora spp., C. excelsa, Ficus exasperata, F. leprieurii, F. mucosa, F. natalensis, F. thonningii, F. umbellata, F. vogelii, Musa sapientum, M. paradisiaca, Pycnanthus angolensis, Eucalyptus spp., Psidium guajava, Syzygium spp., Borassus aethiopum, Elaeis spp., Phoenix dactylifera, Adenia cissampeloides, Passiflora spp., Maesopsis spp., Eriobotrya spp., Vitellaria paradoxa, Solanum anomalum, Cola spp., Theobroma cacao, and Celtis spp. Richter and Cumming (2006, 2008) suggest that the annual migration to Kasanka is driven by seasonal variations in food supply.

      Reproduction: At present, only a single probable breeding colony is known from southern Africa at Marromeu, central Mozambique. However, the collection of females, both full-term and those carrying neonates, from Chiniziwa, central Mozambique, and Mutare in eastern Zimbabwe, confirm that this species breeds in southern Africa. Several hundred bats are present at the Marromeu colony throughout the year, including sexually active adults and subadults, suggesting that breeding is taking place (Cotterill 2001c). Breeding in Uganda occurs in April–June; the bats then migrate away until August and September when they start returning; births are recorded in December–February (Kingdon 1974).

      Figure 48. Eidolon helvum: (a) portrait showing orange collar, (b) group of roosting adults showing dark wings and face contrasting with orange-brown body (Maputo), and (c) a remarkable spectacle in tropical Africa – the crepuscular emergence of several million straw-coloured fruit bats at their roost, Kasanka National Park, Zambia (a: © Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation International, www.batcon.org; b: © Ara Monadjem; c: © F. P. D. Cotterill).

      SYSTEMATIC NOTES

      1792.Vespertilio vampyrum helvus Kerr, Linnaeus’s Animal Kingdom 1(1): xvii, 91. Senegal.

      Only the nominate subspecies occurs in Africa; E. h. sabaeum K. Andersen 1912 occurs in Arabia.

      The diploid number in E. helvum is 2n = 34 (Matthey 1962).

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