Temporal patterns of resource use by the short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterussphinx (Megachiroptera : Pteropodidae)

The short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx: (Megachiroptera: Pteropodidae ), is a common plant-visiting bat that is widely distributed throughout the Indomalayan region. We quantified foraging behavior of C. sphinx as indivi duals fed on fruits of Annona squamosa, leaves of Cassia fistula and Mimuso ps elengi, and fruits and leaves of Coccinia indica. After making several c ircling flights and engaging in brief hovering bouts, bats typically land d irectly on a single fruit and remove all or part of it with the mouth. In c ontrast, individuals remove leaves from trees during flight, without landin g or hovering. C. sphinx typically transports fruits and leaves to feeding roosts where it extracts soluble contents and expels fibrous spats beneath day and feeding roosts. This bat consumes mostly fruits upon emergence from day roosts and feeds on leaves later in the night. These temporal differen ces in nightly foraging behavior may reflect the higher water and carbohydr ate (energy) contents of fruits. compared with leaves, and help sustain fli ght activity throughout the night.