Great Fruit-eating Bat
Artibeus lituratus
Silhouette: Jorge D. Carballo-Morales, based on a photo by Mario Barroso · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassMammalia (Mammals)
- OrderChiroptera (Bats)
- FamilyPhyllostomidae (New World Leaf-nosed Bats)
- GenusArtibeus (Neotropical Fruit Bats)
- SpeciesArtibeus lituratus (Great Fruit-eating Bat)
About the Great Fruit-eating Bat
The great fruit-eating bat (Artibeus lituratus) is a bat species found from Mexico to Brazil and Argentina, as well as in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
They weigh 10.5 grams (0.37 oz) at birth and grow to 65 grams (2.3 oz) as adults. The heart of A. lituratus contains unique membranous structures not seen in any other mammal. The functions of these differences are still being studied, but may possibly aid in keeping the heart in the correct position while upside down, flight assistance, and energy reservation.
In Panama, it has been found that some Artibeus lituratus fly with 18-23g fruits of Dipteryx panamensis (Fabaceae), which is a third of the animal's body weight, up to hundreds of meters from the parent tree. Reproductive damage within A. lituratus has been linked with the insecticide deltamethrin. Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Great Fruit-eating Bat in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve
Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat
Artibeus jamaicensis
Pygmy Fruit Eating Bat
Artibeus phaeotis
Big-eared Woolly Bat
Chrotopterus auritus
Heller's Broad-nosed Bat
Platyrrhinus helleri
Cozumelan Golden Bat
Mimon cozumelae
Common Big-eared Bat
Micronycteris microtis
Tomes's Sword-nosed Bat
Lonchorhina aurita
Northern Yellow-shouldered Bat
Sturnira parvidens
fringe-lipped bat
Trachops cirrhosus
Northern Little Yellow-eared Bat
Vampyressa thyone
Godman's long-tailed bat
Choeroniscus godmani
Great Stripe-faced Bat
Vampyrodes major
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.