The pygmy fruit bat (''Aethalops alecto''), also known as the grey fruit bat, 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 ...

Distribution

Three specimens were collected in April 1995 from Bario highlands in

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, ...

. ''A. alecto'' is confined to montane forest above 1000 m from 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 and

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 ...

. In

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 ...

it had been recorded at

Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu ( ms, Gunung Kinabalu, Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran or Nulu Nabalu'') is the highest mountain in Borneo and Malaysia. With an elevation of , it is third-highest peak of an island on Earth, and 20th most prominent mountain in the worl ...

and Crocker Range in

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

; Gunung Mulu and Bareo in Sarawak (Payne et al. 1985 ).

Biology and ecology

Two adult females and an adult male collected from Bario were in a non-reproductive condition. Kitchener et al. (1990) reported a pregnant female collected on Lombok Island in October. Hill (1961) observed pregnancy in February and May in Peninsular Malaysia. Medway (1978) recorded that the months between February to June was the breeding period for the species. This species appears to be confined to montane forest above 1,000 m (Payne et al. 1985).

External measurements

*3 samples. FA = 43.70-48.00, TL = none, EL = 10.00-12.00, TB = 15.30-17.00, WT = 12.00-18.00. Measurements are referenced from Diaz. Measurements are without scale, but can only be millimeters. FA = Forearm Length, TL = Tail Length, EL = Ear Length, HFL = Hind Foot Length, TB is not described, and WT = usually W, is weight in grams. Further measurements are referenced according to Barquez. Measurements are referenced as GLS = Greater Length of Skull, Condylobasal Length (CBL), Least Interorbital Breadth (LIB), Zygomatic Breadth (ZB), Postorbital Constriction (PC), Breadth of Braincase (BB), Length of Maxillary Toothrow (LMxT), Palatial Length (PL), Mastoid Breadth (MB), Length of Mandibular Toothrow (LMdT), Length of Mandible (LM), Width across Upper Canines (CC), and Width across Upper Molars (MM).

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.
Bat World SanctuaryBat Conservation InternationalITIS
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1764732 Aethalops Bats of Southeast Asia Bats of Indonesia Bats of Malaysia Mammals of Borneo Fauna of Java Fauna of Sumatra Sarawak Least concern biota of Asia Mammals described in 1923 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas