Horsfield’s Fruit Bat

About the Horsfield’s Fruit Bat

Horsfield's fruit bat (Cynopterus horsfieldii) is a species of megabat native to South East Asia. It is named for Thomas Horsfield, an American naturalist who presented the type specimen to the British Museum. Horsfield's fruit bat is a medium-sized megabat, intermediate in size between flying foxes and pygmy fruit bats. Adults weigh around 55 to 60 grams (1.9 to 2.1 oz), and have light-grey to brown fur, with a reddish-brown or orange mantle around the shoulders. In some males, the mantle extends across the chest, and the fur is often brighter in colour than in females. The rim of the ears and the skin overlying the metacarpals and phalanges within the wing are white. Juveniles have a more bland coat pattern, with uniformly dull buff or grey fur.

The bats have a short, broad snout, ending in a pair of almost tubular nostrils. Both the eyes and ears are large, although the latter have a simpler structure than in most other bats, and lack tragi. The wings have a low aspect ratio and high wing loading, typical of many megabats, and indicating a relatively slow flight speed and moderate manoeuvrability.

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