How to Identify a Fruit Bat
The term "fruit bat" is a common term that may refer to any frugivorous (fruit-eating) bat. It includes the Old World family Pteropodidae and the New World genus Artibeus within the Phyllostomidae family. Pteropodidae includes 173 species and Artibeus has 18 species, so "fruit bat" may fairly be applied to at least 192 species of bats. The following steps will help identify the most common types of fruit bats.
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Instructions
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Know that fruit bats live in tropical and subtropical areas. These bats eat fruit exclusively and do not usually hibernate. They are confined to the tropics, which has fruit-bearing trees throughout the year.
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Examine some common features of Pteropodidae. These bats will be found in the jungles of Africa, Asia, Australia and Oceania. Most fruit bats have large eyes with good night vision and an excellent sense of smell. Old World fruit bats do not generally rely on echolocation (locating an object by emitting a sound). The only known exception to this rule is the Egyptian fruit bat, which does use echolocation to navigate caves.
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Become familiar with flying foxes. These are bats from the Pteropus genus and are the bats most often referred to as fruit bats. They are the largest bats with Pteropus vampyrus, having a wingspan of six feet. They have a furry head and body and do resemble foxes.
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Study the common features of the Artibeus genus. These are the neo-tropical fruit bats that are native to Central and South America. They are smaller than their Old World cousins and only average 10 cm or less in length. Unlike other fruit bats, members of this genus have a small sharp leaf on their nose that they use in echolocation.
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Familiarize yourself with the Jamaican fruit bat. This is the best-known and most common member of the New World fruit bats. It grows to a length of about 9 cm and has a range extending from northern Argentina to northern Mexico.
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