The Sulawesi rousette or Sulawesi fruit bat (''Pilonycteris celebensis'') is a

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), ...

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 ...

in the family Pteropodidae

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 ...

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

, an island in

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, ...

. It is presently the only member of the genus ''Pilonycteris''.

Taxonomy

It was formerly classified in the genus ''Rousettus'' until 2021, when a phylogenetic study found it to belong to its own genus (and tribe, although a new tribe was not described for it) that was more derived than ''Rousettus'', which was described as ''Pilonycteris''. ''P. celebensis'' is thought to be the only member of ''Pilonycteris'', but '' Rousettus linduensis'' may also belong.

Description

The tibia of the Sulawesi rousette bat is covered in dense fur. Its antitragal lobe is fairly reduced. The bony arch of its cheek is narrow and triangular in shape. The male's distal end of the penis has a flattened and triangular shape.

Diet

''Rousettus celebensis'' is a fruit-eating bat; it has big wings which allow it to carry heavy loads and also make it a good seed disperser. Its diet consists of large seeds, an uncommon feature, compared to other frugivorous bats. ''R. celebensis'' has a unique digestive system which allows it to digest certain seeds or seed coats or both.

References

Megabats Rousette, Sulawesi Mammals described in 1907 Taxa named by Knud Andersen Bats of Indonesia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{Indonesia-stub