The black-capped fruit bat (''Chironax melanocephalus'') is a species of

megabat Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera ( bats). They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genera '' Acerodon'' and '' Pteropus''— flying foxes. They are the only member of the ...

in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus ''Chironax''.

Distribution

Seven specimens of ''C. melanocephalus'' were collected from the lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

at Kubah and Lambir, and beach

at Samunsam,

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java Isl ...

. The specimen that was mist-netted in Kubah National Park on 12 July 1995 was a first record for Sarawak (Abdullah et al. 1997). According to Payne et al. (1985) the distribution of C. melanocephalus in

is only known from Sepilok in Sabah and Temburong in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

. The

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

includes

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, Peninsular

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, Sumatra,

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

and Sulawesi (Payne et al. 1985).

Biology and ecology

The

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

where it was caught was lowland mixed

dipterocarp Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus ''Dipterocarpus'', is derived from Greek (''di'' = two, ''pteron'' = wing and ''karpos'' = fru ...

forest. Two

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

s were caught in the understory of primary dipterocarp forest in

Kubah National Park The Kubah National Park ( ms, Taman Negara Kubah) is a national park in Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, located at 20 km from the city centre. Wild animals are hidden deep in the rainforest here, and some of the species that live here are be ...

; one from the understory of mixed beach forest habitat in Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary; and four from the canopy (between 15 and 30 m) of the primary dipterocarp forest in

Lambir Hills National Park The Lambir Hills National Park ( ms, Taman Negara Bukit Lambir) is a national park in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It is a small park, at , and is composed largely of mixed dipterocarp forest, with some small area ...

. These sites are new distributional records for C. melanocephalus in Sarawak and have extended the range of the species to the western part of Borneo. The bat normally roosts in small groups in tree ferns and in shallow caves (Payne et al. 1985). All ''C. melanocephalus'' caught were adults, three males and four females. Two were in non-reproductive condition and others were in various reproductive stages. A female (MTA96041) caught on 21 May 1996 from Kubah was pregnant. In November 1996, two females caught in Lambir Hills National Park were in post-lactating condition, suggesting recent detachment or loss of juveniles. A male caught at the same site was observed to have enlarged testes. Medway (1978) recorded pregnant females in February and April in the upland area of

Cameron highlands The Cameron Highlands ( ms, Tanah Tinggi Cameron, , ta, கேமரன் மலை) is a district in Pahang, Malaysia, occupying an area of . To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with ...

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

References

* Hall LS, Gordon G. Grigg, Craig Moritz, Besar Ketol, Isa Sait, Wahab Marni and M.T. Abdullah. 2004. Biogeography of fruit bats in Southeast Asia. Sarawak Museum Journal LX(81):191-284. * Karim, C., A.A. Tuen and M.T. Abdullah. 2004. Mammals. Sarawak Museum Journal Special Issue No. 6. 80: 221—234. * Mohd. Azlan J., Ibnu Maryanto, Agus P. Kartono and M.T. Abdullah. 2003 Diversity, Relative Abundance and Conservation of Chiropterans in Kayan Mentarang National Park, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Sarawak Museum Journal 79: 251-265. * Hall LS, Richards GC, Abdullah MT. 2002. The bats of Niah National Park, Sarawak. Sarawak Museum Journal. 78: 255-282.

External links

Chironax
{{Taxonbar, from=Q301123 Megabats Bats of Southeast Asia Bats of Indonesia Bats of Malaysia Bat, Black-capped fruit Bat, Black-capped fruit Bat, Black-capped fruit Least concern biota of Asia Mammals described in 1825