Little collared fruit bat

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Little collared fruit bat

Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Pteropodidae
Genus:	Myonycteris
Species:	M. torquata
Binomial name
*Myonycteris torquata* Dobson, 1878

Little collared fruit bat range

The little collared fruit bat (Myonycteris torquata) is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae found in Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Togo, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and moist savanna.

Anatomy and physiology

The little collared fruit bat was named for its prominent collar of stiff and sticky hairs that line its throat and sides of its neck in adults.^[2] On its dorsal side, its fur is dark chestnut brown and long, compared to its ventral surface which is shorter and paler in color.^[2] White basal ear tufts and epaulets are absent, helping distinguish the little collared fruit bat from related fruit bat species.

Ecology

Little is known about the ecology of the little collared fruit bat. According to Bergmans (1976), it appears to be a solitary species, spending most of its time in the rainforest zone and near the forest-savanna boundary.^[2]^[3] The little collared bat tends to fly in the upper strata of the forest, sometimes descending to lower levels where it can be observed. Very few specimens are available in collections, suggesting the rarity of the species.^[4]

Taxonomy

There is little difference between the two described subspecies M. t. leptodon and M. t. wroughtoni, and they are often considered undefined taxonomic divisions.^[2]

Connection to Ebola virus

The little collared fruit bat is one of three species of African fruit bat in which antibodies to Ebola virus have been detected along with viral RNA.^[4] No culturable virus has been isolated. It is not known whether these species are incidental hosts or a reservoir of Ebola virus infection for humans and other terrestrial mammals. Despite the fact that scientists have found evidence of Ebola infections in the little collared fruit bat, the bats do not seem to get sick.^[5]

References

^ Bakwo Fils, E.M.; Kaleme, P. (2016). "Myonycteris torquata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T84463104A22046504. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T84463104A22046504.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Happold, D.C.D (1976). The Fruit Bats of Western Nigeria. Department of Zoology, University of Ibadan: The Nigerian Field, Vol. XLIII. pp. 30–76. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
^ Javier, J. B.; Ibanez, C.; Machordom, A. (22 August 1997). "Evolutionary Relationships among the African Fruit Bats: Rousettus egyptiacus, R. angolensis, and Myonycteris". Journal of Mammalogy. 78 (3): 766–774. doi:10.2307/1382935. JSTOR 1382935.
^ ^a ^b Leroy, EM; Kumulungui, B; Pourrut, X; Rouquet, P; Hassanin, A; Yaba, P; Délicat, A; Paweska, JT; Gonzalez, JP; Swanepoel, R (1 December 2005). "Fruit bats as reservoirs of Ebola virus". Nature. 438 (7068): 575–6. doi:10.1038/438575a. PMID 16319873. S2CID 4403209.
^ Vogel, G. (10 April 2014). "Are Bats Spreading Ebola Across Sub-Saharan Africa?". Science. 344 (6180): 140. doi:10.1126/science.344.6180.140. PMID 24723589.

Extant species of family Pteropodidae

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Eutheria
Superorder: Laurasiatheria
Order: Chiroptera

Subfamily Nyctimeninae

Nyctimene
(tube-nosed fruit bats)

Paranyctimene

Subfamily Cynopterinae

Aethalops (Pygmy fruit bats)	Borneo fruit bat (A. aequalis) Pygmy fruit bat (A. alecto)
Alionycteris	Mindanao pygmy fruit bat (A. paucidentata)
Balionycteris	Spotted-winged fruit bat (B. maculata) Balionycteris seimundi
Chironax	Black-capped fruit bat (C. melanocephalus)
Cynopterus (Dog-faced fruit bats)	Lesser short-nosed fruit bat (C. brachyotis) Horsfield's fruit bat (C. horsfieldii) Peters's fruit bat (C. luzoniensis) Minute fruit bat (C. minutus) Nusatenggara short-nosed fruit bat (C. nusatenggara) Greater short-nosed fruit bat (C. sphinx) Indonesian short-nosed fruit bat (C. titthaecheilus)
Dyacopterus (Dayak fruit bats)	Brooks's dyak fruit bat (D. brooksi) Rickart's dyak fruit bat (D. rickarti) Dayak fruit bat (D. spadiceus)
Haplonycteris	Fischer's pygmy fruit bat (H. fischeri)
Latidens	Salim Ali's fruit bat (L. salimalii)
Megaerops	Tailless fruit bat (M. ecaudatus) Javan tailless fruit bat (M. kusnotoi) Ratanaworabhan's fruit bat (M. niphanae) White-collared fruit bat (M. wetmorei)
Otopteropus	Luzon fruit bat (O. cartilagonodus)
Penthetor	Dusky fruit bat (P. lucasi)
Ptenochirus (Musky fruit bats)	Greater musky fruit bat (P. jagori) Lesser musky fruit bat (P. minor)
Sphaerias	Blanford's fruit bat (S. blanfordi)
Thoopterus	Swift fruit bat (T. nigrescens) T. suhaniahae

Subfamily Harpyionycterinae

Aproteles	Bulmer's fruit bat (A. bulmerae)
Dobsonia (Bare-backed fruit bats)	Andersen's naked-backed fruit bat (D. anderseni) Beaufort's naked-backed fruit bat (D. beauforti) Philippine naked-backed fruit bat (D. chapmani) Halmahera naked-backed fruit bat (D. crenulata) Biak naked-backed fruit bat (D. emersa) Sulawesi naked-backed fruit bat (D. exoleta) Solomon's naked-backed fruit bat (D. inermis) Lesser naked-backed fruit bat (D. minor) Moluccan naked-backed fruit bat (D. moluccensis) Panniet naked-backed fruit bat (D. pannietensis) Western naked-backed fruit bat (D. peronii) New Britain naked-backed fruit bat (D. praedatrix) Greenish naked-backed fruit bat (D. viridis)
Harpyionycteris	Sulawesi harpy fruit bat (H. celebensis) Harpy fruit bat (H. whiteheadi)

Subfamily Macroglossinae

Macroglossus (Long-tongued fruit bats)	Long-tongued nectar bat (M. minimus) Long-tongued fruit bat (M. sobrinus)
Melonycteris	Fardoulis's blossom bat (M. fardoulisi) Black-bellied fruit bat (M. melanops) Woodford's fruit bat (M. woodfordi)
Notopteris (Long-tailed fruit bats)	Long-tailed fruit bat (N. macdonaldi) New Caledonia blossom bat (N. neocaledonica)
Syconycteris (blossom bats)	Common blossom bat (S. australis) Halmahera blossom bat (S. carolinae) Moss-forest blossom bat (S. hobbit)

Subfamily Pteropodinae

Acerodon	Sulawesi flying fox (A. celebensis) Talaud flying fox (A. humilis) Giant golden-crowned flying fox (A. jubatus) Palawan fruit bat (A. leucotis) Sunda flying fox (A. mackloti)
Desmalopex	White-winged flying fox (D. leucopterus) Small white-winged flying fox (D. microleucopterus)
Eidolon (Straw-coloured fruit bats)	Madagascan fruit bat (E. dupreanum) Straw-coloured fruit bat (E. helvum)
Mirimiri	Fijian monkey-faced Bat (M. acrodonta)
Neopteryx	Small-toothed fruit bat (N. frosti)
Pteralopex	Bougainville monkey-faced Bat (P. anceps) Guadalcanal monkey-faced Bat (P. atrata) Greater monkey-faced Bat (P. flanneryi) Montane monkey-faced Bat (P. pulchra) New Georgian monkey-faced Bat (P. taki)
Pteropus (flying foxes)	Admiralty flying fox (P. admiralitatum) Aldabra flying fox (P. aldabrensis) Black flying fox (P. alecto) Small Samoan flying fox (P. allenorum) Vanuatu flying fox (P. anetianus) Aru flying fox (P. aruensis) Ashy-headed flying fox (P. caniceps) Bismarck masked flying fox (P. capistratus) Moluccan flying fox (P. chrysoproctus) Makira flying fox (P. cognatus) Spectacled flying fox (P. conspicillatus) Large Samoan flying fox (P. coxi) Ryukyu flying fox (P. dasymallus) New Ireland masked flying fox (P. ennisae) Nicobar flying fox (P. faunulus) Banks flying fox (P. fundatus) Gilliard's flying fox (P. gilliardorum) Gray flying fox (P. griseus) Ontong Java flying fox (P. howensis) Small flying fox (P. hypomelanus) Andersen's flying fox (P. intermedius) Kei flying fox (P. keyensis) Livingstone's fruit bat (P. livingstonii) Lombok flying fox (P. lombocensis) Okinawa flying fox (P. loochoensis) Lyle's flying fox (P. lylei) Big-eared flying fox (P. macrotis) Lesser flying fox (P. mahaganus) Mariana fruit bat (P. mariannus) Indian flying fox (P. medius) Black-bearded flying fox (P. melanopogon) Black-eared flying fox (P. melanotus) Caroline flying fox (P. molossinus) Great flying fox (P. neohibernicus) Mauritian flying fox (P. niger) Temotu flying fox (P. nitendiensis) Ceram fruit bat (P. ocularis) Ornate flying fox (P. ornatus) P. pelagicus Pelew flying fox (P. pelewensis) Masked flying fox (P. personatus) Geelvink Bay flying fox (P. pohlei) Grey-headed flying fox (P. poliocephalus) Bonin flying fox (P. pselaphon) Little golden-mantled flying fox (P. pumilus) Solomons flying fox (P. rayneri) Rennell flying fox (P. rennelli) Rodrigues flying fox (P. rodricensis) Madagascan flying fox (P. rufus) Samoa flying fox (P. samoensis) Little red flying fox (P. scapulatus) Seychelles fruit bat (P. seychellensis) Philippine gray flying fox (P. speciosus) Temminck's flying fox (P. temminckii) Insular flying fox (P. tonganus) Vanikoro flying fox (P. tuberculatus) Kosrae flying fox (P. ualanus) Large flying fox (P. vampyrus) New Caledonia flying fox (P. vetulus) Pemba flying fox (P. voeltzkowi) Dwarf flying fox (P. woodfordi)
Styloctenium	Mindoro stripe-faced fruit bat (S. mindorensis) Sulawesi stripe-faced fruit bat (S. wallacei)

Subfamily Rousettinae

Eonycteris
(Dawn fruit bats)

Rousettus
(rousette fruit bats)

Subgenus Boneia: Manado fruit bat (R. bidens)

Subfamily Epomophorinae

Epomophorini

Epomophorus (Epauleted fruit bats)	Angolan epauletted fruit bat (E. angolensis) Ansell's epauletted fruit bat (E. anselli) Peters's epauletted fruit bat (E. crypturus) Gambian epauletted fruit bat (E. gambianus) Lesser Angolan epauletted fruit bat (E. grandis) Ethiopian epauletted fruit bat (E. labiatus) East African epauletted fruit bat (E. minimus) Minor epauletted fruit bat (E. minor) Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat (E. wahlbergi)
Epomops (Epauleted bats)	Buettikofer's epauletted fruit bat (E. buettikoferi) Dobson's fruit bat (E. dobsoni) Franquet's epauletted fruit bat (E. franqueti)
Hypsignathus	Hammer-headed Bat (H. monstrosus)
Micropteropus (Dwarf epauleted bats)	Hayman's dwarf epauletted fruit bat (M. intermedius) Peters' dwarf epauletted fruit bat (M. pusillus)
Nanonycteris	Veldkamp's dwarf epauletted fruit bat (N. veldkampii)

Myonycterini

Lissonycteris	Angolan rousette (L. angolensis)
Megaloglossus	Azagnyi fruit bat (M. azagnyi) Woermann's bat (M. woermanni)
Myonycteris (Little collared fruit bats)	São Tomé collared fruit bat (M. brachycephala) East African little collared fruit bat (M. relicta) Little collared fruit bat (M. torquata)

Plerotini

Plerotes	D'Anchieta's fruit bat (P. anchietae)

Scotonycterini

Casinycteris	Short-palated fruit bat (C. argynnis) Campo-Ma’an fruit bat (C. campomaanensis) Pohle's fruit bat (C. ophiodon)
Scotonycteris	Zenker's fruit bat (S. zenkeri)

Taxon identifiers
Myonycteris torquata	Wikidata: Q1763436 Wikispecies: Myonycteris torquata BOLD: 503095 CoL: 454ZH EoL: 1038722 GBIF: 2432942 iNaturalist: 183167 IRMNG: 10722917 ITIS: 631592 IUCN: 84463104 MDD: 1004537 MSW: 13800180 NCBI: 77243 Observation.org: 85534 Open Tree of Life: 192012

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