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 Yasuní National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Yasuní National Park
Dark Fruit-eating Bat
Artibeus obscurus
Flat-faced Fruit-eating Bat
Artibeus planirostris
Andersen's Fruit-eating Bat
Artibeus anderseni
Greater Spear-nosed Bat
Phyllostomus hastatus
Striped Spearnosed Bat
Gardnerycteris crenulatum
Fischer's little fruit bat
Rhinophylla fischerae
chestnut short-tailed bat
Carollia castanea
Bidentate Yellow-eared Bat
Vampyriscus bidens
Northern Little Yellow-eared Bat
Vampyressa thyone
Common tent-making Bat
Uroderma bilobatum
MacConnell's bat
Mesophylla macconnelli
Vampire Bat
Desmodus rotundus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.