Acerodon jubatus
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 jubatus

description: 132.
Golden-capped Flying Fox
Acerodon jubatus
French: Acérodon couronné / German: Goldkronenflughund / Spanish: Zorro volador coronado
Other common names: Golden-capped Fruit Bat, Golden-crowned Flying Fox; Panay Golden-capped Flying Fox (lucifer)
Taxonomy. Pteropus jubatus Eschscholtz, 1851.
“ Insel [= Island] Luzon, Manilla,” Philippines.
Acerodon jubatus includes extinct populations on Panay (lucifer), previously recognized as A. lucifer by D. G. Elliot in 1896 but later considered a subspecies. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
A.j.jubatusEschscholiz,1831-Philip-pinesNofMindanao,exceptBatanes,Babuyan,andPalawanIs.
A. j. mindanensis K. Andersen, 1909 — Mindanao (Philippines).
Descriptive notes. Head-body 260-300 mm (tailless), ear 31-34 mm, hindfoot 56— 62 mm, forearm 182-205 mm; weight 0.8-1.2 kg (reaching 1-4 kg on Mindanao). Greatest lengths of skulls are 77-85 mm. Muzzle of the Golden-capped Flying Fox is short and narrow, generally dark brown to black; rhinarium is black, with large nostrils and furrow on side of philtrum. Eyes are large, with brown irises. Ears are bluntly rounded on tips and shorter than muzzle, with no reduction above. Golden yellow fur extends from between eyes to crown and down back of head to nape or mantle, with some flecks on muzzle and face. Fur is short but a little longer on mantle. Muzzle is generally dark brown to black. Mantle is chestnut-red to brown, forming collar around nape and area near base of neck, with buffy to yellow nuchal patch. Fore neck is often dark brown, occasionally black like throat and chin. Back, rump, chest, belly, and flanks are seal-brown to dark brown. Fur color varies widely but independently of sex, age, or locality. Pelage is sprinkled with coarse golden or silvery hairs. Golden bufty tips of fur generally hide brown bases. Uropatagium is reduced; calcar is small. Wing membranes are brown to dark brown, with occasional pale blotches on wing and heavy depigmentation in some old individuals. Thumb is usually thick and long (65-70 mm). Skull is typical pteropine, moderately robust with short narrow rostrum, small orbits, low and broad sagittal crest, and rather thick mandible. Dental formulais12/2, C1/1, P 2-3/3, M 2/3 (x2) = 32-34. P! is early deciduous. Dentition is broad and heavy, with three cusps on second and third molariform teeth, including well-developed anterolingual cusp. P? has posterointernal cusp. P* and M' have well-developed anterointernal tubercle. P,, M|, and M, have sharply defined inner basal ledge.
Habitat. Relatively large primary and high-quality secondary forests at low elevations, typically in mangroves, small islands, rugged foothills, or steep cliffs, from sea level up to elevations of ¢. 1100 m. The Golden-capped Flying Fox seems to be more sensitive to disturbance than co-occurring species of Pteropus because it prefers to roost in forests with dense vegetation. Most roosts are found in sites with ultrabasic soil or near riparlan ecosystems. It rarely forages in orchards or other human-modified landscapes, but it will cross them while flying between forest fragments.
Food and Feeding. Fruits in diets of the Golden-capped Flying Fox include multiple native species of Ficus (Moraceae), Parkia sp. (Fabaceae), Sandoricum sp. (Meliaceae), Syzygium sp. (Myrtaceae), Nauclea sp. (Rubiaceae), and Terminalia sp. (Combretaceae). Ficus species form the bulk of their diet, and they are usually taken from trees growing on stream banks. Diets are less diverse than those of co-occurring flying foxes, and they contain more native species. Foraging typically occurs 5-12 km from roosts.
Breeding. Female Golden-capped Flying Foxes give birth synchronously to one young/ year in April-June acrossislands in the Philippines. Mating system is likely polygynous.
Activity patterns. Golden-capped Flying Foxes are nocturnal and remain in roosts during the day. Typically, colonies leave roosts a little before dusk to go to foraging sites. Males scent-mark to set up mating territories in late evening before leaving roosts to forage.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Golden-capped Flying Fox is generally gregarious and roosts in large colonies in forested areas with low levels of disturbance, typically with other species, usually the Large Flying Fox (Pteropus vampyrus) and occasionally the Island Flying Fox (P. hypomelanus). Small groups of the Goldencapped Flying Fox occasionally switch tree roosts with other co-roosting flying foxes. Movement of colonies might involve predator avoidance, including hunting by humans. Golden-capped Flying Foxes engage in typical activities such as sleeping, fanning their wings, mating, and territorial defense. Females spend more time resting, and males spend more time on activities related to mating (e.g. territorial behavior or sexual activity). Golden-capped Flying Foxes usually are less than 20% of mixedspecies roosts.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The Golden-capped Flying Fox is a Philippine endemic that underwent population decline of more than 50% over the last three generations and is pressured by intensifying hunting for bushmeat, roost disturbance, and habitat loss. Reports from the late 19" century and early 20™ century recorded mixed-species colonies of ¢.100,000 individuals, which contrasts greatly with recent colonies frequently being ¢.5000 individuals. The Golden-capped Flying Fox has been extirpated on Panay Island (subspecies lucifer). The two largest known roosts on Luzon are both in Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park and estimated to be ¢.60,000 (Divilacan) and ¢.25,000 (Dinapigue) individuals. In mixed-species colony declines, proportion of the Golden-capped Flying Fox decreases faster than the Large Flying Foxes, suggesting the formeris less tolerant of disturbance or more vulnerable to threats. Only three of the 12-15 remaining colonies that contain Golden-capped Flying Foxes are located atsites that are shielded from most disturbances. Deforestation and logging threaten stability of roosting and foraging sites. Golden-capped Flying Foxes exclusively use natural forest, a habitat that has undergone severe decline in the Philippines, with remaining high-quality forest often occurring at higher elevations where the species is less likely to occur. Thousands of flying foxes were shipped prior to the international trade ban imposed by theirlisting on CITES Appendix I. Hunting of flying foxes in the Philippinesis illegal, except by a few indigenous groups, but hunting is unregulated and therefore continues today. Fruit bat buyers prefer Large Flying Foxes over Golden-capped Flying Foxes because the latter 1s much more odorous, undesirable to consumers. Nevertheless, hunters are unaware of the species differences and still kill both species. The Golden-capped Flying Fox is also sensitive to disturbance at roost sites, often due to hunting activities, which can lead to population declines and more frequent roost switching. Disturbance at roosts adds stress and risk of mortality to entire colonies.
Bibliography. Andersen (1912b), Corbet & Hill (1992), Elliot (1896), Heaney et al. (2016), Heideman (1987, 1989b), Heideman & Utzurrum (2003), Hengjan et al. (2017), Ingle & Heaney (1992), Mildenstein & Paguntalan (2016), Mildenstein et al. (2005), Stier & Mildenstein (2005).
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 pages 134-135, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6448815