Salim Ali's fruit bat (Latidens salimalii) is a rare, medium-sized megabat and the only species in the genus Latidens. Angus Hutton, a planter and naturalist, first collected it in 1948 in the High Wavy Mountains in the Western Ghats of Theni district, Tamil Nadu, in southern India. It was at first misidentified as a short-nosed fruit bat of the genus Cynopterus, until Kitti Thonglongya recognised it as a new species and named it for the Indian ornithologist Salim Ali in 1972. It has no external tail, blackish brown fur on the head, light grey-brown underparts, a body length of about 10 centimetres and a forearm of 6.6 centimetres. Observed bats ate fresh fruit of the bead tree Elaeocarpus oblongus and figs such as the cluster fig Ficus glomerata. The Wikipedia list of pteropodids gives its IUCN status as endangered, with a declining population.
Facts
Classification
Population Trend ThreatsBiological Resource Use 2 Relationship to People Living or Extinct Conservation Status Activity Pattern Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source Salim Ali's fruit bat (Wikipedia)
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Source Salim Ali's fruit bat (Wikipedia)Article text, distributionQuote, Article text, distribution
It was first collected by Angus Hutton, a planter and naturalist in the High Wavy Mountains in the Western Ghats of Theni district, Tamil Nadu in South India in 1948.
Sources
1. EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014): EltonTraits 1.0 mammal foraging attributes (MamFuncDat)
EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014)MamFuncDat.txt, row Latidens salimalii (Diet-Fruit, Diet-Nect, Diet-Inv, Diet-PlantO columns)
3797 Latidens salimalii Pteropodidae 0 0 0 0 0 0 80 20 0 0 Ref_3 D2 Ar A 1 0 0 Ref_1 ABC 44 Ref_178 2
MamFuncDat.txt, row Latidens salimalii (Activity-Nocturnal, Activity-Crepuscular, Activity-Diurnal columns)
3797 Latidens salimalii Pteropodidae 0 0 0 0 0 0 80 20 0 0 Ref_3 D2 Ar A 1 0 0 Ref_1 ABC 44 Ref_178 2
View the Source 2. Salim Ali's fruit bat (Wikipedia)
Article text, population
Additionally, it is experiencing population decline, with the population expected to contract by a further 20% by 2032 due to hunting for bushmeat, loss and degradation of caves, and deforestation.
Article text, threats
Additionally, it is experiencing population decline, with the population expected to contract by a further 20% by 2032 due to hunting for bushmeat, loss and degradation of caves, and deforestation.
Article text, human use
Additionally, it is experiencing population decline, with the population expected to contract by a further 20% by 2032 due to hunting for bushmeat, loss and degradation of caves, and deforestation.
Child Taxon Of: Pteropodidae, Lead
Salim Ali's fruit bat (Latidens salimalii) is a rare megabat species in the monotypic genus Latidens.
In Group: Bats (Chiroptera), Lead
Salim Ali's fruit bat (Latidens salimalii) is a rare megabat species in the monotypic genus Latidens.
View the Source3. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF): GBIF species 2432972: species profile of Latidens salimalii
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)speciesProfilesQuote, speciesProfiles
"extinct": false
4. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF): GBIF species 2432972: IUCN Red List category of Latidens salimalii
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)iucnRedListCategoryQuote, iucnRedListCategory
"category": "ENDANGERED"
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