THE ANIMAL FILES

Giant golden-crowned flying fox

Acerodon jubatus

A flying fox can commute between islands to reach fruit.

Giant golden-crowned flying foxes are Philippine fruit bats with a golden patch over the head and nape. Figs are important food, and forested roosts can be shared with another flying-fox species. Their size does not turn them into bird- or blood-eating bats.[1]

Follow the evidence ↓
Giant golden-crowned flying fox
Image: Gregg Yan · Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Range
Endemic to the Philippines[1]
Food
Fruits, especially figs, and some leaves[1]
Activity
Nocturnal foraging and daytime roosting[1]

A crown in the fur

Golden fur runs from between the eyes toward the nape, contrasting with darker face and body fur. Males are somewhat larger in several measurements. A broad wingspan is visually striking, but photographs with forced perspective should not be used to assign human-sized body proportions. The wings and torso are different measurements.[1]

Figs and commuting

Faecal studies find many fig seeds, supporting the importance of figs while not fully resolving preference relative to availability. Leaves also occur in the diet. Individuals roosting on Maripipi have been tracked travelling to Biliran to feed. The roost location therefore need not contain every food tree used that night.[1]

Shared trees, separate species

Roosts can mix this species with the large flying fox, Pteropus vampyrus. Daytime includes rest as well as grooming and social activity before nocturnal departure. Forest and river corridors provide feeding connections; maintaining a roost alone does not secure distant fruit resources used by travelling animals.[1]

A COMMON MIX-UP

Is a flying fox a fox with wings?

No. It is a bat; the common name refers to resemblance, not membership of the dog family.[1]

TRY A LITTLE REASONING

Why protect feeding connections beyond the roost tree?

Reveal the explanation

Bats can commute far to fruit trees, including across water, so resting and feeding resources occur in different places.[1]

Sources & editorial notes

Adapted and translated from the cited Wikipedia revisions, with source-linked reasoning. Image credit and licence are listed separately above.

Adapted and translated from Wikipedia contributors; exact revisions are linked below. CC BY-SA 4.0

  1. Wikipedia contributors — Acerodon jubatus (adapted and translated; exact revision)
  2. NCBI Taxonomy — Acerodon jubatus (identity and game lineage)

Last fact check:

One discovery leads to another

Common vampire batA blood-feeding bat can also be a careful food-sharing neighbour.Desmodus rotundus ↗European hedgehogA spiny visitor with more than one kind of nest.Erinaceus europaeus ↗European moleTiny, fur-hidden eyes are still eyes that can detect light.Talpa europaea ↗