Geographic Range
Black bearded tomb bats live in Central India, Indochina, Thailand, Borneo, Burma,
and the Philippines. Their range includes Indonesia, Bantam, and West Java, and they
are occasionally found in the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, and Lombok.
Habitat
Black-bearded tomb bats are found in habitats including rainforests, woodlands, tombs,
deserted buildings, rock formations, caverns, cliffs, and arid country plains. They
prefer densely sheltered areas. They roost in groups ranging from 200 to 4000 individuals.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- desert or dune
- forest
- rainforest
- scrub forest
Physical Description
The coat of black-bearded tomb bats is quite variable dependent on its particular environment. It ranges from grayish to multi-brown or red variations. Hairs are typically white tipped, turning increasingly more red or brown towards the base. Fur is present on the tail (uropatagium) membrane. No throat sac is present, but a series of pores that open into the throat region is present where the sac would be located. Males have a black beard, which is believed to be seasonal. In the mating season, males produce a thick substance into the beard that is believed to be a form of pheromone to attract mate. The thick tail tapers to a slightly bulbous tip. The wings attach just above the ankles.
These bats are strong fliers that can reach recorded heights of 90 meters.
The dental formula is 1/2 1/1 2/2 3/3.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- ornamentation
Reproduction
Information on mating systems is not available.
The mating season lasts for only a few weeks in the winter. The female gives birth
to one live infant sometime in early spring.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- fertilization
- viviparous
The young nurse for approximately 2 months, though they remain in their colony for
life. A young reaches sexual maturity very quickly; young are able to fly and care
for themselves as a nearly full grown adult by August-September.
The care of the infant is the responsibility of the female. Weaning takes place when
the young is around 2 to 3 months old.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
Little is known about the longevity of these animals, but approximate ages for individuals
vary from 5 to 20 years. Infant mortality within this species is particularly high.
Behavior
Within roosts males have been known to form a protective circle around the female
and young. Each male has a particular area, which it occupies; this implies a social
hierarchy in the colonies. In some cases there are strictly male or female colonies
found in roosts (mainly after the mating season). These bats tend to scream a very
piercing, high-pitched noise when being captured, in danger, or injured.
- Key Behaviors
- flies
- nocturnal
- motile
- sedentary
- territorial
- social
- colonial
- dominance hierarchies
Home Range
The home range size of these bats has not been reported.
Communication and Perception
Information on the communication of these animals is not available. However, tactile communication is obviously important between mothers and their offspring. Some vocal and chemical communication probably occur and help mothers to identify their own offspring in the roost.
Food Habits
Taphozous melanopogon
feeds primarily on flying insects, although it also sometimes feeds on small fruits.
It hunts by echolocation, emitting a "click" or "tic" that can be faintly audible
to humans.
- Primary Diet
- carnivore
- Animal Foods
- insects
- Plant Foods
- fruit
Predation
There are not many predators of black bearded tomb bats. However, larger bats, crows, owls and monkeys have been known to prey upon this species.
Ecosystem Roles
Black-bearded tomb bats help control insect populations, and those that feed on fruit
may pollinate plants or disperse seeds.
- Ecosystem Impact
- disperses seeds
- pollinates
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
These bats may have some economic importance to humans by helping to polinate crops and helping to control insect pests.
- Positive Impacts
- pollinates crops
- controls pest population
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Black-bearded tomb bats are not known to have any negative impacts on humans.
Conservation Status
Though not endangered, black-bearded tomb bats areprotected by the Zoological Park
Organization of Thailand.
Other Comments
Black bearded tomb bats are agile creatures. They cling to vertical surfaces, as well
as effortlessly crawling up and down porous surfaces like rock walls and cave crevices.
Additional Links
Contributors
Nancy Shefferly (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
James Lawrence (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Kate Teeter (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- 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.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- 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.
- desert or dunes
-
in deserts low (less than 30 cm per year) and unpredictable rainfall results in landscapes dominated by plants and animals adapted to aridity. Vegetation is typically sparse, though spectacular blooms may occur following rain. Deserts can be cold or warm and daily temperates typically fluctuate. In dune areas vegetation is also sparse and conditions are dry. This is because sand does not hold water well so little is available to plants. In dunes near seas and oceans this is compounded by the influence of salt in the air and soil. Salt limits the ability of plants to take up water through their roots.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- 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.
- scrub forest
-
scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.
- urban
-
living in cities and large towns, landscapes dominated by human structures and activity.
- suburban
-
living in residential areas on the outskirts of large cities or towns.
- 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.
- sexual ornamentation
-
one of the sexes (usually males) has special physical structures used in courting the other sex or fighting the same sex. For example: antlers, elongated tails, special spurs.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- 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
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- nocturnal
-
active during the night
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- territorial
-
defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- colonial
-
used loosely to describe any group of organisms living together or in close proximity to each other - for example nesting shorebirds that live in large colonies. More specifically refers to a group of organisms in which members act as specialized subunits (a continuous, modular society) - as in clonal organisms.
- dominance hierarchies
-
ranking system or pecking order among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- insectivore
-
An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.
References
Boonsong, L., J. McNeely. 1988. Mammals of Thailand, Second Edition . Bangkok: Association for the Conservation of Wildlife.
Hill, J., J. Smith. 1986. Bats A Natural History . Austin: University of Texas Press.
Kunz, T., E. Pierson. 1994. Walker's Bats of the World . Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Lekagul, B., J. McNeely. 1988. Mammals of Thailand 2nd Edition . Bangrak, Bangkok, Thailand: Saha Karn Bhaet Co..
Zoological Park Organization of Thailand, 2000. "Animals Protection Act" (On-line). Accessed November 19, 2001 at http://www.zoothailand.org/animals/protection_list.asp .
2001. "Nipah Virus Infection in Bats (Order Chiroptera) in Peninsular Malaysia" (On-line). Accessed November 19, 2001 at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no3/yob.htm .