(Artibeus jamaicensis)
Location: Central Mexico, Bolivia, central Brazil, the greater and lesser Antilles and possibly the Florida Keys
Habitat: rainforests, deciduous forests, scrub forests, caves and dark areas of abandoned buildings
The Jamaican fruit bat, also called the Mexican fruit bat, is a large bat with a wingspan of up to 40-45 cm and weighing about 1 ½ ounces. This species of bat is easily distinguished by their leaf-nose and their lack of an external tail. The fur on their back is usually a dull brownish to grayish with a silvery tinge. The belly fur is usually more pale. Their fur is very short, soft and has a plesant odor similar to that of purfumed soap.
Bats are divided into two suborders. The first group is the “Megabats” or Megachiroptera, which are herbivorous or specifically frugivorous. Some are called “flying foxes”. The second group is “Microbats” or Microchiroptera. Jamaican fruit bats fall into this category. This group varies in what they eat. They can be herbivores, carnivores, frugivores and some feed exclusively on blood. There are many differences between these two groups. Microbats have complex and sometimes large external ears, while megabats have simple external ears. Microbats can use echolocation to search for food, while megabats cannot. Megabats use their eyesight and sense of smell for finding their food.
The Jamaican fruit bat is among many of the bat species that exhibit tent-making behavior. These bats are known to bite through the madrib, or veins, of the laves of pants in the families Araceae and Palmae in such a way as to create a roosting area for themselves. This biting of leaves caues them to collapse in such a way as to form a semi-enclosed ‘tent’. The Jamaican fruit bat feeds mostly on fruits of tropical shrubs and trees, as well as pollen, nectar, small insects and flower parts. Some of their favorite fruits include avocados, figs, bananas, espave nuts, mangoes and even the pulp around the seeds of Acromia palms. They will squeeze ripe fruit in their mouth, swallowing the juice and spitting out the pulp in a pellet form. They do actively forage for their food an night, using their sense of smell and sight for finding their food.
Groups of this species have been known to respond to distress calls of a captured individual by actually mobbing the predator. It is thought that such mobbing behavior could be effective against small mammalian predators like opossums, which are known predators of this species.
Due to the incredibly rapid digestion rate, these bats must forage for food very frequently. They are also a very important species to the pollination and dispersal of tropical fruit bearing plant species. About 70% of the world’s fruit is pollinated solely by bats. This species is one of the few pollinators and seed dispersers found on the island of Jamaica. Large areas of Jamaica’s rainforests have already been clear cut. With their habitat disappearing at such a rapid rate, these animals are becoming a species of special concern in Jamaica. However, these bats are rather common and widely distributed throughout Central America, South America and the Caribbean islands.
Research has shown that bacteria produced by bats shows promise as a possible source for new antibiotics and bacteria for use in toxic waste cleanups.
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REFERENCES
The Centre for the Conservation of Specialized Species. “The Jamaican or Mexican Fruit Bat”.
http://www.conservationcentre.org/scase10.html
Hamlett, Lori. Nashville Zoo at Grassmere. “Short-tailed leaf-nosed bat”. http://www.nashvillezoo.org/bats.htm
National Wildlife Federation ENature. “Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat Artibeus jamaicensis”.
http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesRECNUM.asp?recnum=MA0320
Organization for Bat Conservation. “The Jamaican Leaf-nosed Bat Artibeus jamaicensis”.
http://www.batconservation.org/content/meetourbats/jamaicaninfo.htm
Pedersen, Scott Ph.D. South Dakota State University. “Jamaican Fruit Bat – Artibeus
jamaicensis”. http://biomicro.sdstate.edu/pederses/guideajam.html
