''Rousettus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Old World fruit bat Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera. 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 superfami ...

s or

megabats Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera. 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 superfa ...

, referred to as rousette bats. The genus is a member of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Pteropodidae. The genus consists of seven

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

that range over most of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

to southeast

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, and the islands of the south

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

. They are among the few megabats capable of echolocation, and the only genus of megabats known to use vocal echolocation.

Classification

Genus ''Rousettus'' – rousette fruit bats *

Geoffroy's rousette Geoffroy's rousette (''Rousettus amplexicaudatus'') is a species of megabat or Old World fruit bats. It is one of ten species in the genus ''Rousettus''. Distribution Geoffroy's rousette occurs throughout Southeast Asia and in the Malesia region ...

, ''R. amplexicaudatus'' *

Egyptian fruit bat The Egyptian fruit bat or Egyptian rousette (''Rousettus aegyptiacus'') is a species of megabat that occurs in Africa, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and the Indian subcontinent. It is one of three ''Rousettus'' species with an African-Malag ...

or Egyptian rousette, ''R. aegyptiacus'' *

Leschenault's rousette Leschenault's rousette (''Rousettus leschenaultii'') is a species of fruit bat. The scientific name of the species was first published by Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest in 1820. Description Leschenault's rousette is brown to grey-brown in colour w ...

, ''R. leschenaulti'' *

Linduan rousette The Linduan rousette (''Rousettus linduensis'') is a species of megabat in the ''Rousettus'' genus of the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to Indonesia and is known only from four specimens collected in the swamp forest of Lore Lindu National P ...

, ''R. linduensis'' *

Comoro rousette The Comoro rousette (''Rousettus obliviosus'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae endemic to the Comoros Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical ...

, ''R. obliviosus'' *

Bare-backed rousette The bare-backed rousette (''Rousettus spinalatus'') is a species of megabat. Taxonomy and etymology It was described as a new species in 1980 by Bergmans and Hill. The holotype was collected in 1977 in northern Sumatra. The species name "''spin ...

, ''R. spinalatus'' *

Madagascan rousette The Madagascan rousette (''Rousettus madagascariensis'') or Madagascar rousette, is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. Description The Madagascan r ...

, ''R. madagascariensis'' The species in the genera '' Boneia'', '' Stenonycteris'', and '' Pilonycteris'' were also formerly classified in ''Rousettus'', but phylogenetic analysis supports them being their own genera.

References

Bat genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{fruit-bat-stub