Acerodon celebensis
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Pteropodidae
Acerodon
Acerodon celebensis

description: 130.
Sulawesi Flying Fox
Acerodon celebensis
French: Acérodon de Sulawesi / German: Sulawesi-Flughund / Spanish: Zorro volador de Célebes
Other common names: Sulawesi Acerodon, Sulawesi Fruit Bat
Taxonomy. Pteropus celebensis Peters, 1867,
“ Celebes [= Sulawesi],” Indonesia.
Acerodon celebensis includes Sulawesian specimens formerly identified as Pteropus arquatus and P. argentatus. Monotypic.
Distribution. Endemic to Sulawesi (including nearby Sangihe, Siau, Togian, Buton, and Selayar Is), Banggai Is (Peleng), and Sula Is (Mangole and Sanana).
Descriptive notes. Head-body 190- 225 mm (tailless), ear 30-34 mm, hindfoot 37-44 mm, forearm 130-145 mm; weight 374 g (mean). Greatest lengths of skulls are 62-63 mm. Males are larger than females and have glandular neck tufts with strong musk that are rich tawny at base and produce thick ocherous orange band around shoulder. Muzzle of the Sulawesi Flying Fox is short and narrow, rhinarium is black with large nostrils, and philtrum has side furrow. Eyes are large, with brown irises. Ears are longer than muzzle from front of eye to tip of nose, wide at base, and pointed. Pelage on crown, mantle, and underside is generally golden or yellowish buffy, with chocolate-brown backside and small patch of brown fur on throat with sprinkles of longer silvery whitish hairs. Belly is slightly lighter. Fur is short and thin around crown and mantle to expose buffy and brown head and muzzle. Sides of head are sprinkled with long whitish silvery hairs. Golden buffy tips of fur generally hide brown bases. Tibia is dark and not furred; femur is furred. Fur is woollier on underside of lateral membrane between humerus and femur. Genitals are black and concealed in fur. Uropatagium is reduced; calcar is small. Wing membranes are black and originate from sides of body,slightly above medial plane. Skull is typical pteropine and moderately robust, with short narrow rostrum, small orbits, low and broad sagittal crest, and rather thick mandible. Dental formula for most species of Acerodonis 12/2, C1/1,P3/3,M2/3 (x2) =34.1, and last lower molars are small, and P' is early deciduous. Canine cingula and posterior basal ledges on premolars and molars are strong, especially compared with congeners. Caninesare slightly larger in males. Dentition is weak in general; P? lacks posterointernal cusp. Anterointernal basal tubercle is more sharply obvious in M, than in P,, and there is no distinct anterointernal cusp in P,. Basal ledge of P,, M,, and M, do not extend as far forward on innerside ofteeth as in other species of Acerodon.
Habitat. Coastal mangrove forests on offshore islands and villages and bamboo on coast and inland from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 1500 m.
Food and Feeding. The Sulawesi Flying Fox eats fruits of native and introduced species. Fruits in diets include multiple native Ficus species (Moraceae), Duabanga moluccana (Lythraceae), and Palaquium sp. (Sapotaceae). It has also been observed visiting durian flowers (Durio zibethinus, Malvaceae). Recent studies suggest it is a key pollinator and seed disperser. Diet is not as broad as that of co-occurring species of flying foxes, but it does contain more native fruits.
Breeding. Reproductive cycle of the Sulawesi Flying Fox is probably seasonal, with births occurring in February-March. Females have been seen with dependent young in August-October.
Activity patterns. Sulawesi Flying Foxes are nocturnal and remain in roosts during the day. They engage in typical behaviors such as fanning their wings and territorial defense. Colonies leave roosts a little before dusk (c.19:00 h) to go to foraging sites.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Sulawesi Flying Fox is generally gregarious and roosts in large colonies in mangroves with low levels of disturbance. Individuals and small groups have been found in areas with higher levels of disturbance (e.g. nearvillages or roadsides), but it is unclearif these roosts are temporary or not. It often co-roosts with other species offlying foxes, particularly the Black Flying Fox (Pteropus alecto).
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Sulawesi Flying Fox is endemic and increasingly pressured by hunting for bushmeat. It has been locally extirpated from North Sulawesi, where bushmeattrade is centralized, with hunting causing an inferred population reduction greater than 30% in the past three generations. Known colonies are under constantly threat of being extirpated, but there are no legal protections. Mangrove forests have declined due to conversion for shrimp aquaculture. As mangroves disappear, large roosting colonies will probably decrease because they are some of the only habitats left with low levels of human disturbance. Deforestation and logging also threaten stability of foraging sites.
Bibliography. Andersen (1912b), Bergmans & Rozendaal (1988), Corbet & Hill (1992), Flannery (1995a), Musser et al. (1982), Tsang & Sheherazade (2016).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Pteropodidae, pp. 16-162 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 134, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6448815