Syconycteris carolinae Rozendaal 1984
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Pteropodidae
Syconycteris
Syconycteris carolinae

description: 76.
Halmaheran Blossom Bat
Syconycteris carolinae
French: Syconyctere d’'Halmahera / German: Halmahera-Blitenflughund / Spanish: Syconicterio de Halmahera
Other common names: Halmahera Blossom Bat, North Moluccan Blossom Bat
Taxonomy. Syconycteris carolinae Rozendaal, 1984,
“beside a stream running through undisturbed primary forest at the southern base of Gunung (= Mount) Gamkunora, east of Baru and north of Tosoa, 1° 20° N 127° 31’ E, northwest Halmahera [Island, Molucca Islands], Indonesia, altitude c. 180 m.”
This species is monotypic.
Distribution. N Moluccas on Halmahera and Bacan Is.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 83-97- 8 mm (tailless), ear 12:3-16- 8 mm, hindfoot 15- 4 mm, forearm 55-6-61- 1 mm; weight 35-47 g. The Halmaheran Blossom Bat can be distinguished from the Southern Blossom Bat (S. australis) by its darker pelage, largersize, slightly longer rostrum, heavier zygomatic arches, more strongly developed postorbital processes, and lack of prominent lambdoid crest. Head and muzzle are elongated, with raised forward-facing nostrils. Fur is somewhat woolly and longer than in the Mossforest Blossom Bat (S. hobbit). Dorsal pelage is dark brown and darker on head and nape; ventral pelage is more dark blonde, being grayer and somewhat lighter than dorsum and having silvery tipped hairs, giving grizzled appearance. Eyes are large, with dark reddish-brown irises; ears are elongated, with bluntly rounded tips, and colored like dorsum. Wings are black; second digits of wings have a claw. There is no uropatagium, but there is a strip of longer fur along inside legs where uropatagium would be; calcar is absent. Skull is elongated, with long rostrum, and jaws and dentition are much more robust than in species of Macroglossus. Molars and premolars are largely reduced, narrow, and linear with flat tops; upper incisors are uniformly large and procumbent; I, are much larger than I, and do not have any gap between them; dentition is generally weaker than in the Southern Blossom Bat and more elongate in the occlusal view; and diastemata between lower premolars are wider than in the Southern Blossom Bat.
Habitat. Most commonly moderately disturbed areas including secondary forests and gardens but also relict forests.
Food and Feeding. The Halmaheran Blossom Bat is most likely nectarivorous.
Breeding. Nine lactating and two visibly pregnant Halmaheran Blossom Bats were collected in January on northern Halmahera. Young might be left in roosts until they are able to fly, although this needs confirmation.
Activity patterns. Halmaheran Blossom Bats are nocturnal.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Halmaheran Blossom Bat is known from only three locations on two islands in Indonesia. It is considered rare due to low number of captures despite many sampling attempts. Halmahera is experiencing ongoing habitat destruction from gold and nickel mining, logging operations, and urban development. In 2017, the Halmaheran Blossom Bat was ranked as the eighth highest research priority for island-endemic bats because of the conservation situation on Halmahera and current lack of knowledge on its basic ecology.
Bibliography. Boeadi & Flannery (1992), Conenna et al. (2017), Flannery (1995a), Helgen & Salas (2008), Koopman & Gordon (1992), Lawrence (1991), Rozendaal (1984).
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 105, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6448815