The Mindoro stripe-faced fruit bat (''Styloctenium mindorensis''), nicknamed the "flying fox" for its foxlike face (although it is not a

flying fox ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

bat), is a species of large

megabat Megabats constitute the Family (biology), family Pteropodidae of the Order (biology), order Chiroptera. They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genus, genera ''Acerodon'' and ''Pteropus''—Pteropus, flyin ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the island of

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,408,454, as of the 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of ...

. The Mindoro stripe-faced fruit bat ranked sixth in the top ten species of 2008, selected by the

International Institute for Species Exploration The International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) was a research institute located in Syracuse, New York. Its mission was to improve Taxonomy (biology), taxonomical exploration and the cataloging of new species of flora and fauna. Betw ...

. Aboriginal rock art dating back some 20,000 years, from near Kalumburu in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

region of Western Australia, depicts several bats similar to ''Styloctenium mindorensis'' hanging from a branch or vine. The paintings belong to a category of sophisticated rock art known as Bradshaws. The facial markings on the paintings are particularly clear and have led researchers to conclude that the subjects were either ''S. mindorensis'' or a closely related species.

Description

''S. mindorensis'' is a typical

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 superfamil ...

, possessing modified forearms for flight, short-clawed hind legs and large ears. The bat shares many anatomical features with the rest of its genus, which was originally described from just one species. These include an overall orange

pelage A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

, a white stripe down the middle of the bat's

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit ** podium * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ...

and white spots above its eyes. ''S. mindorensis'' can be distinguished from the other member of its genus by its possession of multicusped lower and upper

canine teeth In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dogteeth, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or fangs, are the relatively long, pointed teeth. In the context of the upper jaw, they are also known as '' fangs''. They can appear more fl ...

Taxonomy

Because of its distinct morphological features, it was placed in the genus '' Styloctenium''. Prior to this, the genus was only described from one species, the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n ''Styloctenium wallacei''. The second species in the genus to be discovered, it was formally described by Jacob Esselstyn in the August 2007 issue of the

Journal of Mammalogy The ''Journal of Mammalogy'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Mammalogists. Both the society and the journal were established in 1919. The journal covers rese ...

. Esselstyn first heard rumours of the bat's existence from locals in

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

Batong Buhay in the municipality of

Sablayan Sablayan (), officially the Municipality of Sablayan (), is a municipality in the province of Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 92,598 people. History The town used to be called Dongon, a co ...

in the province of

Occidental Mindoro Occidental Mindoro (), officially the Province of Occidental Mindoro ( or ''Lalawigan ng Occidental Mindoro''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. The province occupies the western half of the island of Mindoro. I ...

. The researchers remained skeptical of the species' existence until a live specimen was unexpectedly found in February 2006. The bat was unintentionally caught in one of their nets used for surveying the local fauna. ''S. mindorensis'' is the 74th

chiropteran Bats are flying mammals of the Order (biology), order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as Bat wing development, wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained Bat flight, flight. Bats are more agile in flight than ...

species to be found in the Philippines and the country's 26th endemic one.

Conservation

While no population studies have been done so far on the species, it has been suggested that it may be threatened by

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

and

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

due to the general deforestation of forests on Mindoro. Along with other large pteropodids on the island, the bat is hunted by the locals for food. The describer went so far as to state that because of these threats, the species may be at risk of

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

. It is assessed as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN).

References

External links

Photo at NationalGeographic.com
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1970678 Styloctenium Bats of Asia Bats of the Philippines Endemic fauna of the Philippines Fauna of Mindoro Mammals described in 2007