Geographic Range
Bumblebee bats (
Craseonycteris thonglongyai
) are found in the Oriental Region of the world. They are found in Thailand, in the
Bilauktaung mountain ranges in the western part of the country; Bumblebee bats are
mainly located in the Sai Yoke, Kanchanaburi Province. They can also be found in the
south eastern parts of Myanmar near the border with Thailand.
Habitat
Bumblebee bats preferentially use limestone caves for roosting near the tops of the
caves for warmth. Bamboo forests serve for the habitat in which they find their food.
Bumblebee bats commonly forage in the upper canopy of the forest.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- rainforest
- Other Habitat Features
- caves
Physical Description
Bumblebee bats are about the size of a large bumblebee, hence the common name. These
bats are considered among one of the smallest mammals in the world. The size of the
head and body is 29 to 33 mm long. The length of the bumblebee bat forearms are 22
to 26 m, and adults weigh between 1.7 and 2.0 g. It also has small eyes that are mostly
hidden by fur. Bumblebee bats have 28 teeth, which includes relatively large incisors.
The lower incisors are long and narrow. The upper body of bumblebee bats can be 2
different colors: brownish red, or gray. The underside of the bat is a paler color
while the wings and the membrane between the legs, called the uropatagium, are darker.
Bumblebee bats have a few distinct characters. First, bumblebee bats do not have a
tail even though they have two caudal vertebrae. Their uropatagium are rather large.
Their noses are pig-like, with large nostrils separated by a wide septum. Finally
they also have large ears that are 9 to 10.2 mm long. The tragus is around half the
size of the ears. Females have 2 sets of nipples, one on the chest and the other in
the pubic area. The nipples in the pubic area are thought to be vestigial or not fully
developed. The males have a large swelling in the gland that is at the base of their
throats. The wings of bumblebee bats are long and wide, making them well adapted for
hovering. They have thumbs that have claws. Their hindfoot is slender, narrow, and
long. Nowak (1999) descirbed bumblebee bat skulls as small with a large inflated spherical
braincase and lacking lambdoidal crests, postorbital processes, and supraoccipital
ridges. In both genders a sagittal crest, which is a bone that runs down the top middle
of the skull, is visible. The zygomata, which is the arch in the cheek, is described
as slender but complete (Nowak 1999).
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Reproduction
Little is known about the mating systems of bumblebee bats.
Bumblebee bats have one offspring per year and breed once per year in late April to
May. However, little else is known about bumblebee bat reproduction.
- Key Reproductive Features
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- viviparous
While inside the cave offspring are usually found attached to the mother. While the
mother is foraging the offspring is left alone.
- Parental Investment
- female parental care
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
protecting
- female
-
protecting
Lifespan/Longevity
Bumblebee bat lifespans are unknown but it is thought to be around 5 to 10 years based
on the lifespans of other closely related bats.
Behavior
The behaviors of bumblebee bats are similar to species within the families
Megadermatidae
,
Rhinopomatidae
,
Hipposideridae
, and
Rhinoolophidae
. Bumblebee bats are a motile species which are capable of long powered flights. Bumblebee
bats are normally active around dusk and dawn. The duration of dawn activity averages
around 18 minutes while at dusk the average time is 30 minutes. When bats are not
flying they are thought to be in torpor to conserve energy. Typically, about 100 individuals
of this species will share the same cave. Despite this congregation, bumblebee bats
are not social. Mothers will roost alone in the nursery cave.
- Key Behaviors
- troglophilic
- flies
- crepuscular
- motile
- daily torpor
Home Range
Bumblebee bats only fly about 1 km from the cave to forage. They do not maintain or
defend territories.
Communication and Perception
Bumblebee bats use echolocation to navigate their environment. They use sounds of
a high intensity and have a constant frequency lasting as long as 2 ms followed by
a shallow downward sweep lasting a duration of 1 ms. The beginning of the call has
an upward sweep. The bats have a base frequency of 35 kHz. They also use two other
harmonics. The second one is at 70 kHz and the third one, which is weaker, is at 105
kHz. Nothing is known about how the bats communicate within their roosts.
- Communication Channels
- acoustic
- Perception Channels
- tactile
- echolocation
- chemical
Food Habits
Insects are bumblebee bats main source of nutrition, but they also eat some spiders.
They are aerial feeders, meaning they catch their prey while flying. They prefer to
fly and forage along the tops of the bamboo trees.
- Primary Diet
- carnivore
- Animal Foods
- insects
- terrestrial non-insect arthropods
Predation
Currently, nothing is known about the predators of bumblebee bats.
Ecosystem Roles
Due to small numbers and small stature of bumblebee bats, its ecosystem impact on
its prey is probably not substantial.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
As insectivores bumblebee bats may help with pest control, but its impact is not considered
substantial due to small population sizes.
- Positive Impacts
- controls pest population
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Bumblebee bats have no known negative effects on humans.
Conservation Status
Bumblebee bats are considered vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and endangered on the
U.S. Endangered species list. The IUCN Redlist reports that the current population
of 5100 individuals is decreasing. According to the IUCN Redlist, the species is disturbed
by human activity in caves. This activity includes habitat-altering limestone extractions.
Their foraging habitats are also being deforested, further decreasing prey availability.
Additional Links
Contributors
Alexandra Burns (author), Radford University, Karen Powers (editor), Radford University, Kiersten Newtoff (editor), Radford University, Melissa Whistleman (editor), Radford University, Laura Podzikowski (editor), Special Projects.
- oriental
-
found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- rainforest
-
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- crepuscular
-
active at dawn and dusk
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- echolocation
-
The process by which an animal locates itself with respect to other animals and objects by emitting sound waves and sensing the pattern of the reflected sound waves.
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- insectivore
-
An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
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