Artibeus jamaicensis Leach 1821
Creators: name: Wilson, Don E.
name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Phyllostomidae
Artibeus
Artibeus jamaicensis

description: 193. Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat <i>Artibeus jamaicensis</i> <b>French:</b> Artibée ferde-lance / <b>German:</b> Jamaika-Fruchtvampir / <b>Spanish:</b> Artibeo de Jamaica <b>Other common names:</b> Jamaican Artibeus <b>Taxonomy.</b> Artibeus jamaicensis Leach, 1821, “ Jamaica.” Artibeus jamaicensis is in subgenus Artibeus. Several taxa (e.g. A. schwartz, A. planirostris, A. fraterculus, and A. aequatorialis) were formerly classified as subspecies of A. jamaicensis but are now considered distinct species. Other taxa such as trinitatis and grenadensis were listed under A. jamaicensis but are related to A. planirostris based on molecular and dental characters and treated here under that species. Phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequence variation in mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene and morphometric data showed that A. jamaicensis (sensu lato) was polyphyletic, containing separate related lineages in Artibeus, and the names A. jamaicensis, A. schwartz, A. planirostris, and A. aequatorialis have been recognized as appropriate species-level names. At one point, the taxon triomylus was considered a distinct species, but that was disputed by more complete molecular analyses. Six subspecies recognized. <b>Subspecies and Distribution.</b> A.j.jamaicensisLeach,1821—GreaterAntilles(Jamaica,Hispaniola,PuertoRico,andVieques,includingGonaveandMonaIs),LesserAntilles,Aruba(NetherlandAntilles),andProvidenciaandSanAndrésIs. A.j.parvipesRehn,1902—Cuba,includingIsladelaJuventud,SBahamas(GreatInaguaandMayaguanaIs),andCaymanIs(GrandCayman,LittleCayman,andCaymanBrac). A.j.paulusW.B.Davis,1970—CentralAmericafromSEMexico(Chiapas)SEtoNWCostaRica(GuanacasteProvince). A.j.richardsoniJ.A.Allen,1908—fromSEMexico(NChiapas)SEthroughCentralAmerica,alongAtlanticcoastandalongbothversantsfromthevicinityofPuntaArenasinNWCostaRica,intoNWColombia. A.j.triomylusHandley,1966—PacificslopeofMexicofromSinaloatoOaxaca. A. j. yucatanicus]. A. Allen, 1904 — Gulf coastal plains and offshore islands from Tamaulipas, Mexico, SE to Yucatan Peninsula (including CozumelI), Belize, and Bay Is off Honduras. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head—body 78-93 mm (tailless), ear 20-27 mm, hindfoot 16-18 mm, forearm 52-62-1 mm; weight 43-5-55 g. Greatest lengths of skulls are 26-2-31-6 mm. Some measurements related to five subspecies are: forearm 56-5-61-2 mm and greatest length of skull 27-5-28-8 mm for triomylus, forearm 56-61-1 mm and greatest length of skull 26-7— 28-1 mm for yucatanicus, forearm mean 53-7 mm for parvipes;, forearm 56-4-59-8 mm and greatest length of skull 27-3— 28-5 mm for paulus; and forearm 55-6-62-1 mm and greatest length of skull 28— 30-2 mm for richardsoni. The Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat is medium-sized, with considerable morphological variation. Fur color is brown to gray and varies geographically, but it is always frosted and has white hair bases. Faint facial stripes are present; they are less clear in darker morphs. Base of forearm is practically naked, with few scattered hairs. Nominate jamaicensis is wood-brown, and richardsoni is darker, nearly black, and represents darkest population in Central America. Subspecies yucatanicus is dark except in northern parts ofits distribution where it can be wood-brown. Subspecies triomylus is wood-brown and lighter than yucatanicus. Subspecies paulus is brown and similarto triomylus in size and color. The Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat is characterized by absence of a tail, narrow and unfurred uropatagium, and short calcar. Ears are broad and triangular, with serrated outer margins. Horseshoe of noseleaf isfree, and lowerlip has central wart surrounded by smaller ones. Sebaceous holocrine glands borderlips and noseleaf. Skull is short and robust; preorbital and postorbital processes are moderately developed; and zygomatic arches are subparallel. I' is small, with distinctly bilobed edges, and molars are strong with large crushing surfaces. Dental formula i£12/2,C1/1,P 2/2. M 2/5 (x2) = 30 teeth in Central Americaand 12/2. C 1/1. P 2/2, M 3/3 (x2) = 32 in western Mexico (triomylus). Chromosomal complement has 2n = 30 (females) and 31 (males) and FN = 56. <b>Habitat.</b> Wide variety of habitats including tropical evergreen forests, riparian forests on western coast of Mexico, tropical semideciduous forests, cloud forests, savannas, seasonally dry forests, bushland, and human-modified habitats (e.g. agricultural land especially with fruit trees). <b>Food and Feeding.</b> The Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat is classified as a narrow space gleaning fruit generalist, but prefers figs. It less commonly eats flowers, leaves, pollen, and insects. It uses vision and olfaction to find fruits and flowers with brilliant colors and strong odors. Figs (Ficus, Moraceae) constitute up to 78% of annual fruit consumption and are available year-round, providing continuous high nutrient and caloric resources. When ripe figs are scarce, otherfruits are eaten. The role of the Jamaican Fruiteating Bat as a seed disperser is well studied, with records of seed dispersal of nearly 200 plant species in more than 40 families. They are especially important dispersers of seeds of Ficus and Solanum (Solanaceae). In Panama, studies suggested that the only other species with a rate of fig consumption and dispersal comparable to the Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat is the Mantled Howler (Alouatta palliata). Discarded leaf parts, whole leaves, and rejected leaf pellets beneath roosts ofJamaican Fruit-eating Bats and capture of mature individuals carrying fresh leaves indicates that these vegetable components constitute a significant part ofits diet. Individuals chew leaves and extract liquid that reportedly is high in protein, thus supplementing daily protein requirements, especially for females during high nutrient demanding periods of pregnancy and lactation. It has been reported that consumption of leafjuices could also provide adequate sources of minerals (e.g. sodium and calcium) and other micronutrients and vitamins that might not be available in fruits. Jamaican Fruit-eating Bats do not eat whole leaves and spit out fiber avoiding problems associated with a high-fiber diet, such as slow digestion and need for a more robust gut that would hinderefficientflight. Extracting protein from leaves might be more efficient than spending time and energy to capture insects. Pollen from several species of plants has been found in gut contents ofJamaican Fruiteating Bats, suggesting they might act as a pollinator by supplementing diets with nectar and pollen, particularly during dry seasons. Insects have been reported less often as food items, but in Mexico, they were observed actively hunting blackflies in a rainforest. Given variation in its diet and habitat flexibility, the Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat is ecologically important, especially as a seed disperser in continuous forest and fragmented environments. <b>Breeding.</b> The Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat exhibits seasonal polyestry and alternate periods of normal and delayed embryonic development (2-5 months). Reproduction is bimodal, varies temporally with latitude and longitude, and peaks in dry and wet seasons. In Costa Rica, dry season peak in pregnancy occurs in March and wet season peak occurs in July, with peaks in lactation two months after each peak in pregnancy. Phenological differences among geographical locations might be related to abiotic conditions and resource availability. Gestation lasts 3-5—4 months but can extend to seven months because of delayed embryonic development. Each female produces a single offspring (twins are extremely rare). After birth, young remain close to their mothers for 2-5 months; mothers carry young as large as 19 g, or c¢.40% of mothers’ body weights. Between one week and one month of age, young are left behind in roosts when mothers forage. After young reach the juvenile stage (2-3 months), they move out of their harem group and associate with congregations of single non-reproductive individuals. Adult weight is reached at c¢.80 days old, and complete epiphyseal fusion occurs at ¢.100 days. Reproductive condition of males varies according to their hierarchicalstatus. Before each peak in parturition, dominant and subordinate males have scrotaltestes, and only ¢.50% ofsatellite males display this condition. <b>Activity patterns.</b> The Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat is nocturnal. It tends to leave day roosts ¢.30 minutes after sunset and flies 5—10 minutes directly to a fruit tree that it might have been visiting for up to eight consecutive nights. Individuals then establish and return to a feeding roost in a second tree nearby and make several feeding passes into the fruit trees (up to 15) to bring fruit back; each pass last ¢.2-7 minutes, before returning to the day roost 30—40 minutes before sunrise. It is more active when moonlight is low, visiting 3-5 different fruit trees (feeding sites). Conversely, when the moon is bright, number offruit trees visited per night decreased to 1-2, keeping activity to a minimum to reach the feeding area and complete feeding passes and return to its day roost around the lunar zenith. It is well known that the Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat uses roosts opportunistically. Roosts include shallow well-illuminated caves,tree holes, hollow logs, rock fissures, bat-made tents (especially under palm leaves), dense foliage shelters, and human structures such as abandoned houses, tunnels, and bridges. Foliage roosts are not permanent shelters (bats abandon them in 3-5 days) and can be located under long fronds oftrees, under arched “umbrellas” formed by single leaves, or shallow depressions formed in the canopy. Cave shelters tend to be more durable and stable. Jamaican Fruit-eating Bats can produce distress calls that consist of a long series of pulses (15 kHz) of short duration, used mainly as warning signals for conspecifics when threatened by predators or tangled in mist nets. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> Inside caves, Jamaican Fruit-eating Bats form two type of aggregation: discrete groups of individuals with tightly packed individuals and more diffuse clusters, generally containing more individuals than in discrete groups where individuals rested more apart from each other. Solitary males or small groups of 2-3 males and young more frequently occupy non-permanent foliage roosts. Tree holes can contain groups of 3-14 adult females, their young, and 1-2 adult males, and unlike open foliage roosts, these provide greater protection against predators, rain, and temperature fluctuations. Field studies using radio-tracking revealed that Jamaican Fruit-eating Bats can move up to 10 km from roosting sites to foraging areas. These long distances were found in Jalisco, Mexico and were more than 13 times longer than those recorded for females in Panama where distances between feeding roosts and fruit trees were 25-400 m (average 175 m). This difference was probably related to differences in densities and distributions of fruit trees in these two areas, supported by records of increasing commuting distances in Panama whenever density of trees with ripe fruit was low. Females disperse and forage at greater distances and for significantly longer times than males. Social organization of theJamaican Fruit-eating Bat is complex, consisting mostly of a defense polygynous mating system, accompanied by a foraging strategy where harem males patrol and forage in the vicinity of their roosts. This strategy requires that resources be in limited supply and defendable, which suggests that habitat characteristics could influence social strategies. What is known about defense polygynous mating system has resulted from constant and long-term observations inside caves, especially in Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico, whereJamaican Fruit-eating Bats occur in different types of aggregations from small groups ofless than twelve individuals to large colonies of more than 500 individuals. Adult males in harems can be one of three categories according to their permanence and position: dominant, subordinate, or satellite. Dominant males are characterized by staying inside or near their harems during almost all the time of residency in the cave. Subordinate males remain close to their harems, with about one-third or two-thirds of their time spent in the caves. Satellite males are the most common type of adult males (c.58%) and remain close to harems but for considerably less time than subordinates. Older and heavier males have larger harems than younger and smaller males. Observations suggest that presence of subordinate males allows dominant males to defend larger groups of females and thus reduces number of copulations by foreign males. Despite possible help to dominant males, subordinates do not perform any obvious defensive behaviors, representing no energetic costs of belonging to a group; although this might constitute a cost in the form of delayed reproduction, subordinates might obtain a long-term benefit by having priority access to females if the dominant male is absent. Apparently, this dominant/subordinate association functions to maintain a large number of females in harems. These observations have also demonstrated that females display differential aggression behaviors according to their position in the harems. Within a cluster, females outside the core group respond intensely to intrusions, suggesting spatial defense. Females inside the central core group show more tolerance and do not display aggressive interactions. Young are 67% of individuals roosting outside of harem groups and occupy mostly exposed areas of caves. Bachelor groups of males and clusters composed of subadults (non-reproductive individuals) of both sexes also roost outside of harem groups. Harem congregations are very stability. Formation of new harems and disintegration of existing ones are uncommon, although turnover of females in harem groups can be common, demonstrating low fidelity to their groups, which might be caused by a low degree of genetic relatedness among them. Opossums, owls, bat falcons (Falco rufigularis), and snakes are common predators of the Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. <b>Bibliography.</b> Allen, J.A. (1904, 1908), August (1985), Bhatnagar (1975), Davis (1970b), Durant et al. (2013), Fleming et al. (1972), Guerrero et al. (2004), Handley (1966¢), Kunz &amp; Diaz (1995), Kunz et al. (1983), Larsen, Hoofer et al. (2007), Larsen, Marchéan-Rivadeneira &amp; Baker (2010b), Leach (1821), MacSwiney etal. (2017), Marques-Aguiar (1994, 2008a), Morrison (1978a, 1978b, 1978c, 1979), Ortega &amp; Arita (1999, 2002), Ortega &amp; Castro-Arellano (2001), Ortega &amp; Maldonado (2006), Phillips et al. (1991), Pumo etal. (1998), Redondo et al. (2008), Rehn (1902b), Rodriguez-Durén &amp; Padilla-Rodriguez (2010), Simmons (2005), Stoner (2001), Timm &amp; Genoways (2003), Tuttle (1968), Vazquez-Dominguez et al. (2013), Wilson et al. (1991), Zarazta-Carbajal et al. (2017).
description: Published as part of <i>Don E. Wilson &amp; Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Phyllostomidae, pp. 444-583 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on pages 573-574, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6458594