CONTENTS
Flora index
Fauna index
guide to the mangroves of singapore
Vertebrates: Mammals
Peter K L Ng and N Sivasothi (editors)
  Fruit Bats

Bats may be encountered at night, and mangrove trees like Sonneratia depend on these flying mammals for pollination. Fruit bats (Megachiroptera) differ from the insectivorous bats (Microchiroptera) in that they feed on fruits, flowers and nectar, and have large eyes able to see well in the dark. As most do not echolocate, their heads are dog-like without the ornamentations usually found on insectivorous bats which navigate and locate their insect prey by echolocation.
lesser dog-faced fruit bat Lesser dog-faced fruit bat
Cynopterus brachyotis
Family Pterpodidae
Size: 9 cm

The lesser dog-faced fruit bat is probably the most common example in our mangroves and elsewhere.
pair of long-tongued nectar bats Long-tongued nectar bat
Macroglossus minimus
Family Pterpodidae
Size: 7 cm

The rarer Long-tongued nectar bat is more restricted to mangroves.

<<Back to other mangrove vertebrates
What is mangrove?
Introduction

The Ecosystem
Abiotic
Biotic

Value
Intro
Products
Indirect uses
Potential uses

About Mangroves
in Singapore
History
Mangroves to visit
Conservation
 
From "A Guide to Mangroves of Singapore", Peter K. L. Ng and N. Sivasothi (editors)
Volume 1: The Ecosystem and Plant Diversity and Volume 2: Animal Diversity
Authors: Kelvin K. P. Lim, Dennis H. Murphy, T. Morgany, N. Sivasothi, Peter K. L. Ng,
B. C. Soong, Hugh T. W. Tan, K. S. Tan & T. K. Tan
BP Guide to Nature Series published by the Singapore Science Centre, sponsored by British Petroleum
© 2001 Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, The National University of Singapore & The Singapore Science Centre