Coloration of the upper parts of Myonycteris is light brown, tawny, or dark brown, sometimes with a reddish or yellowish appearance.
Males have a tawny olive or dull yellow orange ruff of hairs on the foreneck.
This patch of coarse hairs, which extends onto the chest, is associated with a cutaneous glandular formation. Such ruffs and patches of hair are found in many genera of the family Pteropodidae and are always associated with skin glands. These fruit bats occur in forest, woodland, and savannah. They apparently roost in bushes and low trees, often in direct sunlight. A second peak in births may occur in February-March.