Mammals of the WorldLesser Dawn Bat
Eonycteris spelaea
- Order
- Chiroptera
- Family
- Pteropodidae
- Genus
- Eonycteris
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- India|Nepal|Myanmar|China|Vietnam|Laos|Cambodia|Thailand|Malaysia|Singapore|Andaman and Nicobar Islands|Indonesia|Brunei|Philippines|East Timor
- Realm
- Indomalaya|Palearctic|Australasia
Other names: Cave Nectar Bat|Common Dawn Bat|Common Nectar Bat|Dobson's Long-tongued Fruit Bat
About this species
- Size
- Head and body 8.5–11cm; tail 1.5–1.8cm; forearm 6–7cm
- Diet
- Nectar and pollen; at least thirteen plant taxa, including banana and jackfruit
- Habitat
- Caves, in large groups
- Range
- Bangladesh, India and China through Southeast Asia to Timor-Leste
The cave nectar bat, also called the dawn bat or lesser dawn bat, is a fruit bat with grey-brown to dark brown or black upperparts, paler underparts, a neck sometimes yellowish brown and an external tail. The muzzle is elongated and adapted for drinking nectar. Head and body length is 8.5–11 cm, the tail 1.5–1.8 cm and the forearm 6–7 cm (Wikipedia, general species account).
It roosts in caves in large groups, some roosts exceeding 50,000 animals, and sometimes with other bat species. It feeds on nectar and pollen of at least thirteen kinds of plant and pollinates commercially important crops such as banana and jackfruit, and which plants it uses depends on what grows near its roost. The cached account gives no breeding information (Wikipedia, general species account).
Description: Wildlife of Malaysia guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)